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Book _5a 

PRESENTED BY [ Q\ O *" 



THE HEART OF 
THE OLD TESTAMENT 

JOHN R. SAMPEY, d.d., ll.d. 



THE HEART OF 
THE OLD TESTAMENT 

A Manual for Christian Students 



BY 

JOHN R. SAMPEY, d.d., ll.d. 

Professor of Old Testament Interpretation in the 

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 

Louisville, Kentucky 

Author of "Syllabus for Old Testament Study" "The 

International Lesson System" "The Ethical Teaching 

of Jesus" etc. 




NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 
SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD 

OF THE 

SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 



-£5 



171 



COPYRIGHT, l r 
BY SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD 
OF TIIK SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 

Second Edition, Revised 
and Enlarged 






iV£v 



COPYRIGHT, 1909, PY SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD OF THE 
SOUTHERN BAPT1:T CONVENTION 

THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. II 
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



TO THE MEMORY OF 

BASIL MANLY, Jr. 

MY HONORED PRECEPTOR AND FRIEND 



PREFACE 

"Where can I find an Old Testament manual written 
by a modern scholar who believes thoroughly in the 
supernatural in both Testaments ?" You hold the answer 
in your hands. It is not an Old Testament History, 
though it follows the thread of the story from beginning 
to end; it is not a book on Old Testament Literature, 
though it opens up the poetical and prophetical books to 
the student; it is not a treatise on Old Testament The- 
ology, though it calls attention to the rise and develop- 
ment of the great doctrines of the Hebrew Scriptures. 
The author has not limited himself to biography and his- 
tory, nor to literary analysis and appreciation, nor to the 
growth of Bible doctrines ; but he has freely drawn from 
these and other departments of Old Testament study 
whatever seemed of most value to young people in Chris- 
tian homes and schools in the twentieth century. His aim 
is to call attention to what is most worth while. 

It may seem impossible to make a book that will be 
suitable for popular Bible study, and at the same time be 
adapted to use in high schools, colleges, and seminaries; 
but the attempt is here made. It is hoped that the book 
is not too difficult for the average reader, nor too elemen- 
tary for students in schools and colleges. 

The gist of the Old Testament revelation is here put 
before the student in thirteen chapters. A closing chapter 
presents a bird's-eye view of the Bible as a whole. A 
chart is appended in which an effort is made to suggest 
reasonable dates for the books of the Bible. 

The wise teacher will take several recitations for some 
of the chapters. He will try to persuade the pupil to read 



viii PREFACE 

the Bible references in full, that he may get his own first- 
hand impressions of the meaning of God's Word. If this 
Manual creates a thirst for richer knowledge of the Old 
Testament, and starts the reader aright as he opens the 
Bible, the author's aim will have been attained. 

The favor with which the first edition was received 
leads the author to hope for continued usefulness for this 
new and revised edition. More than seventeen thousand 
copies of the first edition were sold. The Heart of the 
Old Testament has also been translated into Portuguese 
and into Chinese. 



INTRODUCTORY 

The Old Testament is part of a progressive revela- 
tion. God spoke in ancient times to the fathers through 
the prophets in many pieces and in many styles; in the 
fullness of time He spoke to us through His Son (Heb. 
1:1, 2). The revelation of grace and redemption, be- 
gun in the earliest history of mankind, and continued 
through the patriarchs and the prophets, was completed 
in Christ Jesus and the Apostles. 

The Bible is a unity; for in all its parts it is a history 
of redemption. That redemption was achieved by Jesus 
Christ, the central character of the Bible, for whom the 
Old Testament prepared the way. To Him all the 
prophets bore witness. Well do Christians retain the 
Old Testament in their Bibles ; for the earlier stages of 
the redemptive process are therein described. The germs 
of all the great Christian doctrines are found in the He- 
brew Scriptures. They are still "profitable for teaching, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in 
righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, 
furnished completely unto every good work" (2 Tim. 
3: 16, 17). These sacred writings are still able to make 
one wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ 
Jesus (2 Tim. 3: 15). 

What folly to ignore writings of such mighty power! 
But there is a folly possibly greater even than neglect 
of these books : some Christian scholars interpret the Old 
Testament in the spirit of the unbelieving Jews, studi- 
ously explaining away all the types and prophecies that 
point forward to our Lord Jesus Christ. Let it be our 
aim in these studies to focus our attention on those facts 



* INTRODUCTORY 

and doctrines in the Old Testament that most concern 
us as Christian students. While all parts of the sacred 
writings are worthy of careful and frequent reading, some 
sections have a richer message for the modern Christian 
than others. It is our hope that these studies will give 
us many glimpses into the heart of the Old Testament, 
to the end that \vc may thereby get a more glorious vision 
of the heart of God. 



CONTENTS 



Preface 
Introductory 



I The Beginnings .... 

II The Patriarchal Period . 

III Job, the Sorely Tried Saint 

IV The Era of Moses and Joshua . 
V The Law of Moses 

VI The Period of the Judges . 

VII David and the Psalms 

VIII Solomon and the Proverbs 

IX The Early Kings and Prophets 

X The Golden Age of Prophecy . 

XI Drifting Toward Captivity 

XII The Exile 

XIII The Restoration .... 

XIV A Bird's-eye View of the Bible 



PAGE 

vii 
ix 

15 

28 

42 

56 

77 

89 

105 

126 

137 

159 

176 

191 

202 

213 



A Chart of the Bible 



226-227 



THE HEART OF 
THE OLD TESTAMENT 



COXc I RNING Till SCRIPTU1 
I. 1 

rfitiwm m 

I 

hut 

• • - ! 
writings w\ to salvation 

. good work. 



THE HEART OF 
THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Chapter I 

THE BEGINNINGS 

1. GOD THE CREATOR 

THE first verse of Genesis lies at the foundation of 
all the theology of the Bible. Dr. James P. Boyce 
had a great sermon on the first part of the verse — "In 
the beginning God." Back of all things, before all things, 
above all things stands God the great First Cause, the 
Creator. 

A hearty acceptance of the fact that God actually 
created the heavens and the earth without the use of pre- 
existing materials, would lift one above the malaria of 
most modern heresies. He who begins the study of 
religion with this simple truth lays a solid foundation 
for all his future thinking. Murphy does not overstate 
the significance of these opening words of the Bible 
when he remarks : "This first verse denies atheism ; for 
it assumes the being of God. It denies polytheism, and, 
among its various forms, the doctrine of two eternal 
principles, the one good and the other evil; for it con- 
fesses the one Eternal Creator. It denies materialism; 
for it asserts the creation of matter. It denies panthe- 
ism; for it assumes the existence of God before all 
things, and apart from them. It denies fatalism, for it 
involves the freedom of the Eternal Being." Hold fast 
15 



lG THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

always to the fundamental fact that the universe came 
into existence through the creative action of God. Mat- 
ter is not eternal ; God alone is from everlasting to i 
lasting. God is not confined within the universe; lie is 
over all as well as in all. Much of the false philosophy 
of our time would fade away, if this truth were univer- 
sally accepted. 

2. TIIK ORDER OF CRF,A1 

The universe was not cotnpli in all its 

ted it. V. 
that the earth, the planet in which our c! 

But for • 

•th might have 

and void i 1:2 

'.inued. I 

r the 
coinir. | 

It i> interesting I 

in the order of crea- 
tion. In both | lower 

limax 
in tin 

'■r<i bj n • • 

1 not 
ok the fact that the autl 
after j-cicnt fie | the language of ap- 

. life. Had h< I mine 

tenninoloL'. the narral 

»mer and the y 

forget the wise saying of 
dinal Baronius : "The intention of Holy Scripture is to 
teach us how to go to heaven, and not how the heavens 
go." 

Many of the best modern scientists have marveled at 



THE BEGINNINGS 17 

the wonderful insight of the author of Genesis. Noth- 
ing short of supernatural guidance will account for the 
width and the accuracy of his knowledge in that early time. 
And yet we must not make the mistake of assuming 
that the first chapter of Genesis is a scientific treatise. 
It is rather a great religious poem celebrating the glory 
of God as the Creator of all things. We should study 
Genesis as a religious book, if we would get the knowledge 
and uplift it was intended to impart. 

Many Christian students now recognize the six days 
of creative activity as standing for periods of indefinite 
length. The universe is possibly millions of years old. 
The earth, on which we live, is probably much older 
than we ever imagined it was in our childhood. God 
takes time to accomplish His work. One day is with 
the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as 
one day. God is not in a hurry. Just as the seventh 
day of rest from creation seems, according to Genesis, 
to stretch all the way from the creation of man to the 
present time, so the preceding days of creative activity 
were almost certainly long periods. In the language of 
the Bible the word day often refers to a period of in- 
definite length. 

3. CREATION OF MAN 

Finally, after long preparation, the earth was ready to 
receive its chief tenant. "And God said, Let us make 
man in our image, after our likeness : and let them have 
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of 
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and 
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" 
(Gen. 1:26). Why does God use the plural, saying, 
"Let us make man in our image?" With whom is he 
taking counsel? Of the many answers to this question 
we name only three: (1) Delitzsch thinks the words are 
addressed to the angels, as belonging to a higher order 



18 Tin: HEART OF THE OLD TESTAM1 

of spiritual beings. (2) Others suggest that G 

rag to Himself, using the royal style of earthly 
princes. (3) Still others think that there is a suggi 
of a plurality of persons in the Godhead, a foreshadow- 
ing of the doctrine of the Trinity, which was atti: 
to be more full 

ferrcd. \ lis us that Go.l man in His 

own ii 

God? 
Dr. Wilton, in 

hi which man I MM 

form or I 
intelk for he has DOl like 

God W< 'l ai a fuli: 

rather in 1 
qualities of mil tute him i 

fdlov. him. '1 1 

nature 

tion : 

man count 

in ( '* .. ith man-. 

it is 
'<• man and woman and united 
them in hi ' '■■ of chil- 

dren, i Ian for the 

.. :h of the 
family through the birth of children 
triirinal inheritance, wl.cn he enjoyed unbroken fcllow- 

8). 

4. Till. SABBATH 

A God rested from } rt activity. He 

was not wearied; but He could now contemplate with 



THE BEGINNINGS 19 

satisfaction a completed universe. His work of pre- 
serving and renewing the world goes on still. 

God gave the sabbath to man as a great blessing. 
"The sabbath was made for man," as a reminder of his 
kinship to God. Six days man is to labor and do all 
his work, and on the seventh, like God at the close of 
creation, he is to cease from his regular work (Gen. 2: 
1-3). The sabbath is the best day of all the week, when 
spent in rest from toil and in deeds of charity and mercy. 
Dr. Welton puts the matter properly when he says : "As 
God rested on the seventh day from his work of creat- 
ing, while yet he continued and continues to work in 
the kingdom of his providence and grace, so man, in imi- 
tation of his example, must abstain on that day from his 
secular occupations, and concern himself with sacred 
and eternal things." 

The Old Testament in many places puts great honor 
upon the sabbath, and pronounces blessings upon those 
who observe it properly (Ex. 20: 8-11 ; Isaiah 58: 13, 14; 
Jeremiah 17:19-27). As Christians, we are not under 
the strict ceremonial laws of the Mosaic system as to 
the sabbath. Our Lord, while observing the sabbath as 
God originally meant it to be observed by His chosen 
nation, refused to be bound by the burdensome traditions 
of the scribes and Pharisees. And Paul proclaims the 
freedom of believers from the burdensome requirements 
of the ceremonial law (Rom. 14: 5, 6; Gal. 4: 8^11 ; Col. 
2:16, 17). In the Lord's Day we have the best ele- 
ments of the Jewish sabbath, with none of its onerous 
restrictions. 

5. THE FIRST HOME 

Genesis 2 : 4-25 gives a charming account of man's 
first home. There has been much speculation as to the 
site of Eden. The most probable location is in lower 
Babylonia near the head of the Persian Gulf. Jehovah 



20 THE HEART Ol THE OLD TESTAM1 

God prepared a delightful home for Adam, and ] 
him in the midst of a beautiful garden rich in earth's 
•.its. lie gave him ment, free 

from anxiety and toil, in caring for the garden. 

alone, having no 1. ciate 

ring him 

man. 

■ 
| 

■ 
thcrs 

beautiful I 

- 

1 He 

•nan work I 

getic natures look forwa .e service 

id. The sen-ants of the King will ever 

serve Him. 



THE BEGINNINGS 21 

We now approach a great mystery — the entrance of 
sin into man's heart and life. The story in Genesis, 
intelligible to little children by its simplicity and natural- 
ness, has kindled the admiration of many of the pro- 
foundest philosophers. No other account of the entrance 
of sin into the human race will ever displace this won- 
derful story; and we do well to let it make its impress 
on our minds, by reading it over and over again. A 
score of questions arise that we may not be able to 
answer to our own satisfaction; but we shall not go 
astray on the fundamentals, if we let the author of Gen- 
esis be our guide. 

If our first parents were to be confirmed in innocence 
and goodness, they must have moral education. They 
must be left free to choose between obedience to God's 
requirements and disobedience ; and God's requirements 
were not burdensome. We must not imagine that God 
wished to keep them in ignorance of anything good and 
helpful. From the experimental knowledge of evil God 
wished to restrain them ; and such a limitation was thor- 
oughly reasonable and beneficent. Experimental knowl- 
edge of evil brought with it an evil conscience, and so 
they were ashamed in the presence of one another and 
frightened at the approach of God. Such knowledge 
was not a blessing, but a curse. 

The first temptation came from without. The tempter 
appeared as a serpent, insidious and artful. He raised 
the question whether God is not unkind and arbitrary 
in withholding from His creatures the right to use the 
good things by which they are surrounded. When he 
succeeds in winning a hearing, he boldly accuses God of 
falsehood, and intimates that God is jealous of His crea- 
tures, lest they rise to His own plane of knowledge. 
The tempter thus injects a terrible doubt into the mind 
of Eve. Who ever parleyed with the tempter and came 
away unsoiled in thought ? A look at the tree of the knowl- 
edge of good and evil, instead of removing doubt as to 



22 THE 111 NT 

God's reason abl 

jt ; a? e oommai. 

■ 
entered sin into \ 

sad day for rarth and b 

Go . 

1 

l'.Ut : in the 

; 

>»med to a 

I 
■ t are 

g hearts - >» as 

' I » face the 
rid. 



VAN *ACE 

The sacred writer foil - first 

ord gives to them sons. :rnag- 



THE BEGINNINGS 23 

ined that the son whom she welcomed as a gift from 
Jehovah would one day make his hands red in his broth- 
er's blood. 

Why did Jehovah accept Abel's offering and reject 
that of Cain? Chiefly because Abel offered in faith, and 
Cain offered in unbelief. The Lord was patient toward 
Cain, and sought to turn him from the murderous im- 
pulse in his heart. Genesis 4 : 7 should probably be ren- 
dered: "If thou doest well, shall there not be a lifting 
up (of thy countenance) ? and if thou doest not well, 
sin is crouching (like a wild beast) at the door, and 
unto thee is its desire; but thou shouldest rule over it." 
The Lord urges Cain to conquer the wild beast of hate 
before it springs to do murder. But Cain nursed his 
hatred until the opportunity came to slay his brother in 
secret. Speedily Jehovah came to reckon with the mur- 
derer. Cain's angry question, "Am I my brother's 
keeper?" has often come unbidden to selfish human lips 
down the centuries. The murderer becomes a wanderer 
on the face of the earth. 

From the wicked line of Cain there came wonderful 
discoveries and inventions. One of his descendants, a 
polygamist, celebrated in martial song his prowess in 
slaying a man that wounded him. Violence began to 
fill the earth. 

The knowledge of God was kept alive in the family 
of Seth. We are told that in the days of Enosh 
men began to call upon the name of Jehovah in wor- 
ship. 

The fifth chapter of Genesis has been called by a 
famous preacher the History of Nobodyism. The author 
gives a catalogue of names with little additional informa- 
tion. When we remember, however, that many genera- 
tions may be omitted in the summary, it is a distinction 
to appear in that roll of honor. Just as Matthew omits 
in the genealogy of our Lord the names of Ahaziah, 
Joash, and Amaziah, so Moses may have omitted from 



24 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

this genealogical register many unimportant names (Matt. 
1:8). 

One verse in the midst of this long cataluguc keeps it 
from being dull and commonplace. "And Enoch walked 
with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Gc: 
24). In the midst of wickedness and infidelil 
kd a life of faith and piety; not apart from his fellows, 
but as the head of Id. His fellowship with 

God v ung to tl • that He 

away from the sinful world to be with Himself. God 

lated him. thai 

■ longevity of man in ' " 

than it h: n in the ' 'haps 

man's life 

'I he btu 

. grew in 

' e tl..-it man 

k'C is 

the realm 
nman Nun 

the real i 1 over t) 

ng mankind. 

■ flood. ! 

rah. He would n 
beginning with Noah. 

is often asked 
strict!. 1, or whether it merely covered the west- 

ern | a. The main purpose of die Flood was 

to d :ul men. Possibly a partial delug* 

sufficient to accomplish that purpose. Of course nothing 



THE BEGINNINGS 25 

but the mighty power of God could account for the 
Flood described in Genesis. All who reject the super- 
natural must reject the Flood as a historical fact. Our 
Lord Jesus refers to it in such a way as to seem to teach 
that it was a historical fact; and His authority is suffi- 
cient for all who believe in Him as the Son of God. He 
who existed before Abraham, He who was in the midst 
of the heavenly glory before the foundation of the world, 
surely He knows the story of the Flood. 

After the terrible deluge, Noah came forth and offered 
sacrifices to Jehovah. The promise was made that never 
again should the earth be destroyed by a flood. The 
sacredness of human life receives a new emphasis in the 
covenant with Noah (Gen. 9:5, 6). The rainbow is 
invested with a rich significance as the pledge that Jeho- 
vah will no more destroy the earth with a flood (Gen. 9: 
8-17). 

The Bible does not show partiality to the pious, but 
tells the truth about them. Noah drank wine until he 
became drunk. The conduct of his younger son was 
disgraceful, and brought upon him a curse. Shem and 
Japheth inherit a rich blessing as the reward of their 
filial reverence (Gen. 9:20-27). 

9. FROM NOAH TO ABRAHAM 

The tenth chapter of Genesis contains much informa- 
tion concerning the tribes and peoples adjacent to Israel. 
It is not intended, however, to be a history of the world 
between Noah and Abraham. 

The eleventh chapter of Genesis tells the story of the 
tower of Babel, and traces the genealogy of Shem down 
to Abraham. The inspired author moves on rapidly 
until he comes to Abram. 



26 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

10. FACTS AND DOCTRINES OF CKEAT VALUE TO THE 
CHRISTIAN 

What facts and doctrines, from the brief account of 
the Beginnings in the first eleven chapters of Genesis, 
have been taken up into the faith and life of Christians? 

Jt may be instructive to nam' I the most ini- 

..nt. 

(1,1 tted the physical universe, Thi 

and the earth came r ''vity 

All life, whether pi 

Use 

All I 

innocent. Th: 

the tcmi'tatiuii 

and the in i I in man ■ 

■ > man- 
kind along wit!. 

the i 

noch walk 

line of Shem. His 
ere to gh nd the religion of 

Jehi i 

The universe is under moral law. Sin lea 
punishment. Justice and mercy are blended in the 



THE BEGINNINGS 27 

rule. Sin and violence grew in volume and power until 
the earth had to be cleansed by the great judgment of 
the Flood. The grace of God shone forth in the preser- 
vation of Noah and in the covenant God made with him 
after the Flood. 



Chapter II 

THE PATRIARCHAL TERIOD 

11. THE WORLD IN ABRAHAM'S DAY 

RECENT research make- Abraham a comparatively 
modem character. He was brought up it I 
ancient city in the fertile- valley of the lower hup!' 
near the head of tl b°Ut 200 ° BL ' 

Babylonia " ™ 

Ur was a city of iv I P (,f Sin - 

the- moon-god The cities of Babylonia contained n-m- 
e various deities of the- country. 
lt jng can; ; water into all parts of tt«t 

fertile- plain. Tl ' !l/< (1 M< 

v.ell advanced. '1 he- art of writing had long 
cultivated, and mar- .tracts 

long prior to Abraham h.v rought to I 

tpade ol modern explorers. Two tl 
Abraham there were- kings in the ancient cities of the 
region from which Abraham came. The- sun and the 
moon and the stars were- objects of worship throu 
Ionia. Polytheism, or the worship of many 
prevailed everv\vh< 

Egypt was also hoary with age. The great pyramids 
had been standing for centuries before Abraham % 
the Nile valley. Egyptian civilization had already 
reached its zenith. 

via and Canaan were also inhabited long before the 
days of Abraham. Haran, the city at which he sojourned 
for a while on the way from Ur to Canaan, was als6 a 
center of the worship of the moon-god. 
28 



THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 29 

The coming and going of Abraham perhaps made little 
impression on the countries he visited. He came and 
went as the head of a family possessing flocks and herds 
and sojourning in tents. He was regarded as a sort of 
Bedouin chieftain by the peoples among whom he so- 
journed. Men little dreamed that the future moral and 
religious progress of the world depended in great meas- 
ure upon the life and work of this dignified chieftain. 

12. THE CALL OF ABRAM 

How did it come about that Abraham should mean so 
much to the religious progress of mankind? The secret 
is disclosed in Genesis 12 : 1-3 : "Now Jehovah said 
unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy 
kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that 
I will shew thee : and I will make of thee a great nation, 
and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and 
be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, 
and him that curseth thee will I curse : and in thee shall 
all the families of the earth be blessed." The electing 
love of Jehovah calls Abram to be a blessing to all man- 
kind. Rich promises are laid as a foundation on which 
Abram is to build a life that shall be a blessing to all the 
families of the earth. Was there ever a loftier ideal 
held before the mind of a man? And right nobly did 
Abram respond to the divine promises and command. 
He followed Jehovah, as He led him far from his home 
and kindred into a strange land. 

Whenever Abram's heart stood in special need of re- 
assurance, Jehovah graciously renewed His promises. 
He also repeated the command that Abram should live 
on the highest possible moral and religious plane. Be- 
fore entering into the covenant of circumcision, Jehovah 
said unto Abram, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me, 
and be thou perfect" (Gen. 17:1). Jehovah urges 



30 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Abram to live in close touch with Himself and thus lead 
a life of moral perfection. High commands these! 

13. ABRAM WORSHIPS JEIK'YAH 

When Abram arrived at Shcchcm, in the center of 
Canaan, Jehovah appeared to him and promised that lie 
would give to his lecd tins land. Abram at once built 
an altar to Jehovah and v ■ *C patu- 

arch went in the land of | « «■* . to 

fefaovah, and ca His name in public worship 

ng on the hills about bmi. and 
the immoral and CHld I wcre 

: the urn- 
hip whid - (>1 - Ur 

jOUrtl in : 

left I ThlS m 

mt for t- 

Ued from 

ncd throu; " f l 1C 

altar " "J 
nam* 

for his high calling by 1 ' 'P° f thehving 

God. 

14. ASSAM 

modern criti 
think the picture of Abram 
there were no instances of m 
hifl i te lie" concern; tttiftll ***• 

shows him as our brother in n. **. » 

patriarch I pt in disgrace, after suffering rebuke 

at the hands of a heathen king. 

The goodness of Jehovah rescued him from similar 



THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 31 

peril a second time at a later period. Some critics deem 
it unlikely that Abram would have repeated his blunder in 
representing that Sarah was his sister rather than his 
wife; but sin has a tendency to repeat itself in every life. 
Abram was not sinless. He climbed far up toward 
the peak of moral perfection; but its exalted crest ever 
beckoned him higher. 

Abram's acquiescence in Sarah's suggestion that her 
handmaid take the place of the wife as the mother of 
the promised heir, seems to us now in Christian lands a 
serious moral lapse ; but it was not so regarded in 
Abram's day; and he must be judged by the standards 
of his own time. We must rather regard it as a test of 
his faith, and count it as a momentary failure of the 
man of faith to leave all in God's hands. 

15. abram's generosity and nobility 

It is pleasant to turn from the picture of Abram's 
disgrace in Egypt to the scene on the uplands of Canaan, 
when he generously offered to his nephew half of the 
land which Jehovah had already promised as his own 
inheritance. He might have dismissed Lot in anger, re- 
minding him that his prosperity had come through their 
association together. He did nothing of the kind. 
Recognizing Lot as his near kinsman, he urged that they 
part in love, and offered Lot the choice of either the 
northern or the southern half of the land. Lot foolishly 
plunged down from the hills into the wicked district of 
Sodom, in the Jordan valley. Jehovah graciously renews 
to His generous servant the promise of a goodly land and 
a numerous posterity (Gen. 13:14-18). 

16. abram's courage and unselfishness 

When Lot was swept away by the four kings from the 
East, the courage and resourcefulness of Abram were 



32 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

equal to the occasion. Calling to his aid all his allies, 
he mustered the men of his own camp and pursued the 
invaders. By a skillful night attack he put the enemy 
to flight, and recovered Lot and all the other captives 
from Sodom. 

On his return from the victory over the invaders, he 
was met by Mekhizedek, king of Salem, with bread and 
wine. Abram received tl ^I*' 1 " 

chizedek, rejoicing to find in him a worshiper of God " 

• nth <>f all. Abram 
t from the 
\h rain's courage and 
ignity of character are writ large in the fourteenth 
chapter of ( ienesis. 

17. AUK 

Lot n turn d 1 : :i1 rc " 

fated 

to tin 1 inally 

the c; ty went Up to heaven, and |c: 

dOWII I tlie city . 

Vbraham l< 
to pi lom. He knew that there was one ri.^bt- 

:nan in ti ity ; and he h< ; might 

be more. Surely Lot had won at least nine others to a 

; are it 
i would | 
Abraham was i 1 im- 

nate, and Jehovah was gracious and generous. 
Abraham did not succeed in averting the destruction of 
the wicked cities of the Plain; but "God remembered 
Abraham, and sent Lot out of tb I the over- 

throw" (Gen. 19:29). Abraham was really 

answered. **The narrative of Abraham's intercession 
for Sodom teaches the long-suffering mercy of God, the 



THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 33 

efficacy of prayer, and the value in a city or nation of the 
leaven of righteous persons." 

18. Abraham's faith sorely tested 

When the great patriarch is first introduced in the 
sacred story, he appears as a man of faith. He obeyed 
the command of Jehovah to leave his home and kindred 
and follow the beckoning of his divine Friend as He led 
him forth into an unknown land. He counted Jehovah 
as faithful, and put all into His keeping. Wherever he 
went he worshiped Jehovah. Every promise from Je- 
hovah he took at its face value. He wavered not through 
unbelief. His life was pitched on a high moral plane, 
and he enjoyed constant fellowship with the Most High. 
Jehovah had promised to make his descendants as the 
dust of the earth, innumerable. 

After the night attack on the kings from the East, 
Jehovah graciously appeared to Abram in a vision to 
encourage him not to fear that he would be destroyed 
on account of his brave deed. "Fear not," said Jehovah 
in the vision; "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great 
reward" (Gen. 15:1). This gracious revelation encour- 
aged Abram to speak of his childlessness. Often had 
he wondered why God had given him no son. The word 
of Jehovah came to him with the assurance that he 
should have a son and descendants innumerable as the 
stars. "And he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned 
it to him for righteousness" (Gen 15:6). Such strong 
faith in God is the finest righteousness men can offer. 
This is not mere intellectual belief, but a complete sur- 
render of heart and life to God who promises. Such is 
the faith that brings justification (Gal. 3:6-9). It is 
also a faith that brings forth works of righteousness 
(James 2:20-26). 

As time went on, Sarah seems to have lost hope of 



84 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

the fulfillment of the promise through her, and, in a 
moment of foolish generosity, suggested that Ahram take 
r as a secondary wife, that through her the promise 
might be fulfilled. Jealousy and heart-burning thus in- 
vaded Abram's home. 

God presently promised that Sarah should be the 

moth- ham's heir. It seemed too wonderful at 

to be a possibility; and Abraham begged that Ish- 

| is heir; but Abraham's faith rose to the 

1 im- 
le. His faith stood the I 
] n due time J< braham a son in hi 

I the birth 
aigh- 
Mther 
1 in him. Hi 
up in an .v 

lible test Th< 

::ar (if Mot n. Would Abra- 
ham be willing to make 
The I 

e true Go I passed In 

the son of irnce, 

more to 1 - 'in this form amou 

•' Jehovah. Tl -.-■ 
uplifted hand *« point 

right mi: 
read this story could ever \bra- 

ham would require him b IS a burnt -off er- 

• ,vah. The Old Testament speaks frequently 
abhorrence of human sacrif 
With Abraham the trial was almost unbearable; but 
his faith stood the test. He believed that God was able 
to restore the lad by a resurrection from the dead (Heb. 
11:17 



THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 35 

When did Abraham see Christ's day? Was there in 
his career a more favorable moment for this great rev- 
elation than the hour in which he made the sacrifice of 
his son? Then was he qualified in some measure to 
receive the revelation of the great sacrifice God meant 
to make on behalf of the world (John 8: 56-58). 

God must be often grieved when His worshipers fail 
under trial. What a satisfaction the noble self-sacrifice 
of Abraham must have been to his divine Friend ! We, 
too, may rejoice that the great representative believer of 
the Old Testament stood the test successfully. It ought 
to give us hope, as we face our own trials. 

19. Abraham's place in the history of redemption 

1. The people of Israel, God's chosen nation, look 
back to Abraham as their father. He is the real foun- 
tain, rather than Jacob, from which the stream of Israel- 
itish history flowed. See Isaiah 51 : 1, 2. Jehovah is 
the God of Abraham. Gen. 26:24; 31:42; Psa. 47:9. 

2. Abraham was honored in a preeminent degree with 
the friendship of God. Isa. 41 : 8 ; 2 Chron. 20 : 7 ; James 
2 : 23. The Arabs to-day refer to him as "the Friend." 

3. Abraham was powerful in intercessory prayer. 

4. Abraham was, in a real sense, a prophet of Jeho- 
vah. Gen. 20 : 7. Through him the world received won- 
derful revelations of God's character and purposes. The 
mission of Abraham received fulfillment in Jesus Christ. 
Gal. 3:13, 14. 

5. Abraham enjoys a preeminence among the spirits 
of the blessed. Matt. 8:11; Luke 16 : 22. 

6. Abraham enjoys the distinction of being called the 
Father of Believers. Gal 3 : 6-9, 29. His faith rested 
on the bare promise of God. Jews, Mohammedans, and 
Christians unite in honoring him as the representative 
man of faith. Luther once said, "If I had Abraham's 
faith, I should be Abraham." 



36 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

20. ISAAC THE MEDITATIVE 

Isaac was a youth of quiet habits. He was not strong 
and aggressive like Abraham and Jacob. He grieved 
much over the death of his mother. He was meditative 
and prayerful. "His life is an echo of the life of Abra- 
ham. All its vibrations arise from the powerful im- 
pulses given in the life of Abraham." 

21. IBBEKAH THE AGC.RESSIVE 

Rcbekah was industrious am 1 polite in her youth. Her 
courtesy to a stranger wen for her an invitation to be- 
come the wife of Abraham's heir. She was quick to sec 
dicnt features of a situation, an 1 knew how to 
achieve her pur] by no ra ;>ulous 

in the use of » rtain her t ambi- 

tious and i herited much 

of her enterprise and ambition, and learned from her 
how to outwit a rival. 

22. ESAU AND JACOB 

The relations of these twin brothers to each other, 
to their parent-, and to the ; ptiou, have 

ghreo rise to much di 

1. What are the facts concerning Esau, th< 
son? 

a. He was fond of hunting and out-door life, his hairy 
covering being an index to his the field and the 

He was of a roving :i, fond of the 

sword and the bow. He was in his glory when at the 
head of a body of armed men with flashing swords. 

b. He was attentive to his father. They petted each 
other. 

c. He was a man whose animal appetites ruled him. 



THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 37 

Hunger in sight of an inviting meal could not be re- 
sisted. He sold his birthright for one mess of pottage 
(Heb. 12:16, 17). Voluntary polygamy among the 
heathen is an index to his character. 

d. He did not appreciate the value of the spiritual 
blessings granted to Abraham and Isaac. He longed 
for temporal prosperity and worldly power. He lacked 
the firm will and pious aspirations of Jacob. We hear 
of no Peniel in his history. 

2. What are the facts concerning Jacob? 

a. He was ambitious. He wished the very best in 
life. 

b. He was shrewd and self-possessed. He knew how 
to attain his ends, and did not hesitate to employ ques- 
tionable means. 

c. He was persevering. The constancy of Jacob is 
a notable characteristic. 

All these traits are elements of strength. He who 
possesses them may become a strong and selfish man, 
building himself up at the expense of others ; but divine 
grace can utilize them in growing a strong and beautiful 
character. 

d. Jacob had a growing appreciation of the covenant 
blessing. When he sought to win his father's blessing 
by deception, he perhaps thought chiefly of the material 
benefits that would accrue; but as he battled against 
dangers and trials, he came to appreciate more highly 
the spiritual elements in the promises made to Abraham 
and renewed to Isaac and himself. To be sure, even at 
Bethel he seems inclined to drive a bargain with the 
Almighty, promising the tithe in exchange for the divine 
protection in his wanderings (Gen. 28:20-22). During 
the long sojourn with Laban, Jacob did not lose sight of 
the God who appeared to him first in the dream at 
Bethel. Jehovah protected him and enriched him. 

At Peniel Jacob's longing for the divine blessing be- 



38 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

came a passion, and he said to the mighty wrestler who 
asked to be released, "I will not let thee go, except thou 
bless me" (Gen. 32:26). 

e. Jacob's troubles led him to lean on Jehovah. His 
character ripened as he grew older. 

At Peniel, when he thought of the near approach of 
the brother whom he had wronged, he was far more 
spiritual than he was when he deceived his blind old 
father. He betook himself to earnest prayer, confessing 
his unworthiness and pleading for protection for his 
family. He craves the fulfillment of God's promise 
(Gen. 32:9-12). 

When the troubles in connection with his daughter 
assailed Jacob, he was told to go up to Bethel and erect 
an altar unto the God who appeared to him there as he 
fieri from BsatL Jacob there entered into a closer fellow- 
ship with God. 

The death of Rachel was a heavy blow to Jacob; but 
a few years later the most staggering blow of all fell 
upon the old patriarch, when his sons came home bring- 
ing in their hands Joseph's fine coat all covered with 
blood. He refr comforted over the loss of his 

favorite son. For year.- he mourned for Joseph. 

Next came the famine, and the captivity of Simeon 
in Egypt. When his sons informed him that Benjamin 
must accompany them on their next visit to the granaries 
of the Nile, the old patriarch's cup of sorrow was full 
to overflowing, and he cried out: "Me have v 
of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and 
ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against 
me" (Gen. 42:36). But it was the dense darkness that 
precedes the dawn. Ere long Jacob was on his way to 
Egypt to see his son Joseph. Near the border of Egypt 
father and son were once more united ; and the patri- 
arch's closing days were spent under the loving protection 
of his noble son. 

When Joseph led his father into the palace to meet 



THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 39 

the king of Egypt, it was not Jacob the wily supplanter, 
but Israel the saint, who lifted his hands to bless Pha- 
raoh. Divine grace achieved a wonderful triumph in 
the life of Jacob. God demonstrated in his case that 
grace can transform a selfish man into a saint. 

Faith was the power in the experience of the patri- 
archs that lifted them above their contemporaries. 
Delitzsch happily describes Abraham as "the man of 
world-conquering faith, as Isaac was the man of quietly 
enduring faith, and Jacob the man of wrestling faith." 

23. THE INSPIRING CAREER OF JOSEPH 

It has been well said that Joseph was a Christian before 
the advent of Christ. He is in many respects the most 
Christlike character in the Old Testament. What are 
some of the chief lessons of permanent value to be 
gleaned from the story of his life? 

1. The value of a high ambition. While yet a lad he 
was dreaming dreams of future greatness. He saw him- 
self at the head of his family. No doubt a selfish ele- 
ment entered into these vouthf ul dreams ; but persecution 
and fiery trials purged out the dross, and left remaining 
the pure gold of an exalted ambition. 

2. A lesson of personal purity. Though sorely 
tempted, he kept himself pure. He might have excused 
himself on the ground that he was not the tempter, and 
that the fault would be that of his master's wife. But 
for Joseph's deep religious life, the temptation would 
probably have swept him into the abyss of impurity ; for 
he had all the attractions and impulses of a vigorous 
manhood. Gratitude to a kind and confiding master had 
its part in restraining Joseph from surrendering to the 
solicitations of the temptress ; but it was his religion that 
helped him most. "How then can I do this great wick- 
edness, and sin against God?" Long ago he had resolved 
to lead a clean life. He could not now consent to do 



40 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

what would displease and dishonor the God of his fathers. 

3. A successful business career is possible for the 
faithful sen-ant of God. Religion and business need 
not be divorced, as many weak Christians hare imagined. 
Joseph never lowered the standard of right in order to 
win success, lie dii the giddy height of suc- 
cess and power, without in the least compromising his 
princi; 

4. The importance of caring for our kindred. Joseph's 
treatment of his brothers when they first appeared be- 
fore him in E ' harsh. 
We 1 I him much effort to con- 
trol ! ■ I opted 
a \vi- ind held himself firmly to it. Jt 

.-■.1 ready 

of hi to his 

led the stoop- 
ing patriarch inl h and the i 
and introduced him I 

I time 
fully 
for his l.r | that they could be with 

him to 

5. i re the com- 

. ;s per- 
' * tl 
of his youth and early manb and in 

prise : 

do wrong. And he endured 

He I it the God of his fathers would bring 

good out of evil. His faith did not fail. He believed 
that all thingl work I igether for good to them that love 
God. Wherever tin Joseph is told, faith in 

God's fatherly care of His children is strengthened. 



THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 41 

Like Moses, Joseph endured, as seeing Him who is in- 
visible. 



24. judah's self-sacrifice 

Judah's early life will not bear favorable comparison 
with that of Joseph. Appetite and passion asserted their 
power over him. As time went on, however, the char- 
acter of Judah became transformed. Endowed with 
qualities of leadership, he became the spokesman of the 
brothers in their dealings with their father and also with 
strangers. Judah became surety for the safe return of 
Benjamin. When Joseph's stratagem puts Benjamin in 
his power, Judah pleads the cause of his youngest 
brother, and nobly volunteers to abide in his stead as a 
slave to Joseph (Gen. 44:18-34). Judah's speech on 
behalf of Benjamin is the most pathetic in all literature. 
He, too, like Joseph, is brought face to face with the 
doctrine of the cross; and he hesitates not, but bravely 
offers himself as a substitute for his guilty brother. 
Surely a book containing such exalted teaching will 
never become antiquated. 

Inasmuch as Judah anticipated the substitutionary sac- 
rifice of the Christ, it was fitting that he should be placed 
at the head of his brethren as ruler. From Judah should 
spring the Prince of Peace, unto whom the peoples shall 
be obedient (Gen. 49:8-12). 



Chapter III* 

JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 

25. THE AUTHOR OF JOB 

THE author of the Book of Job was one of the great- 
est thinkers and writers in all literature. Who 
he was, and when he lived, no man knows. Biblical 
scholars differ widely as to the age in which the author 
of this magnificent poem lived. At one time it was 
thought that Moses was the author ; and much can be 
said in favor of this view. Most recent critical scholars 
favor a much later date for the composition of the book. 
Fortunately for the Christian reader, the question of 
date is not very important. Xo one disputes the rij^ht 
of the book to a place among the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament; and all who have ever really studied it have 
assigned it a place among the great books of the world. 

26. IS THE BOOK HISTORICAL? 

Bible students have not been agreed as to the historical 
character of the book. Some have even contended that 
the story is altogether a parable ; while others have 
thought that the book is literal history from beginning 
to end, and that the speeches are reported just as they 
were spoken. Most scholars have taken a position be- 
tween these two extreme views. They believe that Job 
was a historical character; that he suffered terrible af- 
flictions as a test of his faith ; and that he came through 
the fiery trial without renouncing his faith in God. The 

* Chapter III may be omitted by teachers who use this Manual 
as a guide to the study of Old Testament History. 
42 



JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 43 

references to Job, in Ezekiel 14: 14, 20 and James 5: 11, 
seem to establish the fact that Job really lived and suf- 
fered and came off victorious. But it is highly improb- 
able that four men would carry on a lengthy debate in 
the most elevated poetry. Here the Revised Version 
comes to the aid of the English reader by printing Job, 
Psalms, Proverbs, and Lamentations in the form of 
poetry. All the speeches of Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zo- 
phar, Elihu, and the Almighty are in poetry of the high- 
est type. "Poetic license" is a familiar phrase in the 
study of all literatures. The poet is free to shape his 
material in ways that would be considered improper in 
a historian. The author of Job, under the inspiration 
of the Spirit of God, discusses some of the deepest prob- 
lems connected with God's government of the world. 
He was not a mere historical reporter trying to give 
verbatim the speeches of a group of men living in the 
patriarchal period. We may not be able, on this view, 
to separate sharply the historical kernel of the story 
from the poetic covering: nor do we need to be unduly 
curious on the subject; for the message of the book is 
substantially the same, whether we conceive of it as a 
parable, or literal history, or history worked over with 
poetic embellishment. The inspiration inheres in the 
teachings presented by the great poet who wrote the 
book. God gave the author a message that suffering 
saints need to hear. He cleared away imperfect notions 
as to the relation between suffering and sin, and laid a 
foundation for the teaching of our Lord and His Apos- 
tles as to the place of suffering in the experience of the 
saints. Whatever the author of Job teaches, is part of 
the progressive revelation of God to mankind. 

27. WHEREIN IS THE BOOK INSPIRED? 

How are we to regard the utterances of Job and his 
friends? Are the views advanced by the three friends 



44 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

to be accepted as true, because they are found in an 
inspired book? We are warned again-t Mich a mi 
by the author of the book, when he represents Jehovah 
as saying to Eliphaz: "My wrath is kindled ■gainst 
thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not 
spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job 
hath" (Job 42:7). Arc we to infer from this statement 
that all Job's utterances arc < the Almighty? 

Not as authori; ing; for v that Jeho- 

vah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said — 

"Who is this t! ' 

bout knov 

1.2) 

• 
much for him 1 Job hit 

In contrast with 1, 
t ; for he 

critic 

:t he still . and 

I for light 1 his 

of Job m 

Id 1 
learn. Although there i- much truth in the spt 
of E! hu, and Job, the in 

author of Job did n e of them 

said. He even reports the fa! ions of & 

but no sar- of the book would think of quoting 

as true and authoritative utt- I : it to 

be plain to the reader who has followed the 
thus far, that the student of the Book of Job ma 



JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 45 

alert and painstaking, if he would not go astray in his 
thinking. 

28. A PROLOGUE IN PROSE (CHAPTERS 1 AND 2) 

The author tells the story of Job's great prosperity 
and unique piety (1:1-5). The scene suddenly shifts 
from earth to heaven, and Jehovah calls the attention of 
Satan to Job's remarkable piety. Satan replies that it 
pays Job to be pious, because Jehovah has protected him 
and made him very prosperous. He boldly asserts that 
Job will renounce God, if his property is snatched away. 
He receives permission to put Job to the test (1:6-12). 
Armed with power over Job's property, including his 
family, Satan brings calamity after calamity upon the 
head of the unsuspecting patriarch. One messenger 
treads upon the heels of another with tidings of disaster 
and death. The climax is reached when the last mes- 
senger announces the sudden destruction of all Job's 
children by a cyclone. The bereaved saint bows his head 
in submission to the divine will, and praises the name 
of Jehovah (1:13-22). 

Satan does not surrender his contention that Job will 
renounce God, if a test severe enough is applied. "Skin 
for skin, yea, all that a man has will he give for his 
life," says the Adversary. He boldly affirms his belief 
that severe bodily affliction will make Job surrender his 
allegiance to God. He receives permission to afflict Job 
as he pleases; only he must not kill him (2:1-6). Satan 
afflicts Job with sore boils. He is such a loathsome sight 
that even his wife urges him to renounce God and die; 
but the patriarch, on his ash-heap, rebukes his wife for 
her foolish suggestion, and bows to the will of God 
(2:7-10). 

Job's three distinguished friends visit him to bemoan 
him and to comfort him. Amazed at his pitiable condi- 



46 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

tion, they rend their robes and sit with him on the ground 
seven days and seven nights in painful silence (2:11- 
13). 

29. THE DEBATE BETWEEN JOB AND HIS FRIENDS 

Next follows the main body of the book, in the form 
of a debate between Job and his three friends (chapters 
3-31). Job is the first to break the silence with a vehe- 
ment curse on the day of his birth. He longs even now 
for death (chapter 3). Eliphaz, the eldest and most 
dignified of his friends, rebukes him for fainting under 
his affliction, and reminds him that the innocent do not 
perish. Mortal man cannot be just before God ; and it 
is foolish to become vexed. He counsels Job not to 
despise the chastening of the Almighty, but to seek unto 
God and get right with Him (chapters 4 and 5). 

Eliphaz and the other friends think that Job must have 
fallen into some serious sin ; else grievous disaster would 
not have been sent upon him. The theory which they 
stubbornly defend may be stated in three propositions : 
(1) All suffering is due to sin. (2) Great suffering is 
proof that God has discovered serious sin in the life. 
(3) Therefore Job must have fallen from his integrity; 
since God is punishing him so severely. They argue 
that God never punishes the innocent. Their theory 
leaves no room, in God's providential rule, for suffering 
as the trial of a righteous man's faith. 

Job almost certainly held the view advocated by his 
friends, until his own experience led him to call it in 
question. He knew that he had not turned away from 
God. He was never more faithful and upright than he 
was when disasters and afflictions overtook him. He 
could not, in the light of his own experience, any longer 
hold the view that terrible suffering is sent only as a 
punishment or chastisement of fearful sin. 

Job rebukes his friends for the unkind insinuation 



JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 47 

that he needs to get right with God, and challenges them 
to show wherein he has erred (chapters 6 and 7). 

Bildad emphasizes the justice of God, intimating that 
Job's children were destroyed on account of their sins, 
and asserts that the godless man always perishes (chap- 
ter 8). Job is so absorbed in the problem of his relation 
to God that he pays no attention to Bildad's argument 
(chapters 9 and 10). 

Zophar calls attention to God's wisdom. The Al- 
mighty knows Job thoroughly. He urges Job to get 
right with God, and put iniquity far from him (chapter 
11). 

Job grows sarcastic and asserts that he is not inferior 
to his friends in knowledge. They are forgers of lies 
(chapters 12-14). 

The friends were unable to bring Job to confession 
and repentance by their arguments founded on the char- 
acter and attributes of God. They next try to arouse 
Job to confession and amendment of life by picturing 
the horrible fate of the wicked man. Job understands 
well that they regard him as now belonging among the 
wicked, though they hope to win him back to a life of 
integrity and consequent prosperity. He tells them that 
they are miserable comforters, and boldly denies that 
the wicked man always comes to a sad end. Often he 
prospers to old age, and receives honorable burial. The 
insinuations and doctrines of the three friends are alike 
false (chapters 15-21). 

Eliphaz next openly accused Job of great wickedness. 
He, of course, had no evidence to that effect, except only 
the theory that great suffering was infallible proof of 
great sin. Instead of readjusting his theory to conform 
to all the facts, he perverted the facts in the interest of 
the theory. Bildad, when his turn comes, deals out a 
few platitudes; while Zophar remains dumb. Job in- 
sists more vigorously than before that all sorts of wicked 
men live in prosperity and security. The friends have 



48 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

signally failed to sustain their theory (chapters 22-26). 

Now that Job has the field all to himself, he describes 
the calamities that overtake the wicked. He perhaps 
felt that he had, in his earlier speeches, overstated the 
case, and now wished to look at the subject from an- 
other side. He, too, believes that the fear of God is 
wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding (chap- 
ters 27 and 28). 

Job next reviews his case. He describes first his for- 
mer prosperity and the reverence shown him (chapter 

29) ; then pictures his present abject condition (chapter 

30) ; and finally repeats his plea of "not guilty" (chapter 
31). 

30. A YOUNG MAN SPEAKS 

Elihu, a young man. who had list illy to the 

discussion betwi nd his thn . could no 

longer hold in, bat gave vent to his desire to speak He 
expressed surprise that the aged friends had shown so 
little wisdom in answering I he rebuked Job for 

Belf-righteotWM ch about God's 

moral government. Elihu cm: e value of suf- 

fering as a m< ng men from pride and 

from other sins. God cl ' with pain, in order 

D them from sin to a more righteous life. Elihu 
- to God's greatness in nature as an evidence of 
His wisdom and justice (chapters 32-37). 

31. THE ALMIGHTY SPEAKS 

The Almighty then answered Job out of the whirl- 
wind, and rebuked him for darkening counsel by words 
without knowledge. God's wisdom in the universe at 
large, and in the animal world, is described. Keenly 
sensible of his littleness, Job declines to reply to the Al- 
mighty. Jehovah next asks Job if he can capture the 



JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 49 

hippopotamus or the crocodile. The vision of God over- 
whelms Job; and he repents in dust and ashes (38: 
1 to 42:6). 

The Epilogue, in prose, relates how Jehovah rebuked 
the three friends and vindicated Job. Jehovah doubles 
the prosperity of Job (42:7-17). 

Having given a summary of the contents of the book, 
with special emphasis on the debate between Job and 
his friends, we turn next to trace the progress of the 
struggle in Job's mind, until he becomes victorious at 
every point. Let us try to see things through Job's eyes. 

32. job's condition prior to his trial 

1. He was the most pious man of his time. Jehovah 
Himself said so. 

2. He was one of the most prosperous men of his 
time. He was held in honor by all. 

3. Job was limited in knowledge of the divine gov- 
ernment, the divine nature, the future life, and all other 
religious subjects within the confines of knowledge pos- 
sessed in the patriarchal period. Job was far in advance 
of the idolaters of his time; for, like Abraham, he be- 
lieved in and worshiped the One Living God. He be- 
lieved in God's power, wisdom, holiness, and providential 
care of His creatures. He believed that it would always 
be well with the righteous, both in his outer life and in 
his inner fellowship with God. Job gives no evidence 
of any knowledge of Satan and his relation to men. 

If we wish to understand the struggle in Job's mind 
and heart, we must try to forget all that we have learned 
from the Bible. Not a book of the Old Testament had 
been written in his day ; for he lived before Moses. The 
New Testament came many centuries later. Job never 
heard a single promise to the tempted and the suffering. 
He could not comfort himself with the thought that, 
"whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." Close the Bible 



50 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

and lay it aside, if you really wish to understand Job's 
fearful struggle. Remember, too, that the author of the 
Book of Job, in the opening chapters, lets us into a 
Poor Job did not know what the author adver- 
to his readers, that Satan was trying to make Job 
renounce God. If Job could have known that Jehovah 
believed in him all the time, and claimed him as the most 
loyal servant lie had in the earth, how nun! 
had been to endure the afflictions that fell upon him ! 
If Job had known md hell, i 

learned of them from Jesus, he would not have been 
oppressed with I 

lie would not I rying out of the gloom, "If a 

man die, shall : D ?" 

33. [AL1 

1. family. He 

directly (fa a ill. 

2. Loss of health. J< ' ten with a form of 

tortures, and 1 
cry. with 

a pot that he re- 

tbc hand of God, and shall we not : In all 

this did n 

3. Job His three most di 

according to the orthodoxy of their time, 
1 him as having commit 1 .' in to which his 

may be directly traced Hence th< 

:m to confession of sin and repentance. 

Recall these two fad Tob seems to know noth- 

I Satan's enmity to the righteous. He seems wholly 

ignorant of his activity on the earth. (2) Like his three 

friends, Job regards his calamities as coming directly 



JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 51 

from the Almighty. What can such blows from God 
mean? Job knows that he has not turned away from 
God. Why, then, has the Almighty become his adver- 
sary? His heaviest, most intolerable trial is the loss of 
God's friendship and help. 

34. STAGES IN THE STRUGGLE 

1. A cry for death. 3 : 1-26 ; 6 : 8-13. 

2. A plea for mercy, mingled with remonstrance. 
7:12-21. 

3. A threefold complaint: (1) That man cannot have 
an interview with God, and if he could, there is no um- 
pire between them. 9:11-21, 32-35. (2) That God 
seems to treat the righteous and the wicked alike. 
9:22-24. (3) That early blessings from God were only 
a preparation for severe treatment later on. 10: 8-17. 

4. A desperate resolve — "I will argue my ways before 
Him." 13 : 13-28, especially verse 15 in American Stand- 
ard Revision. 

5. A great question — "If a man die, shall he live 
again?" 14:1-22, especially 7-15. There is a longing 
for future vindication; but the hope dies away on the 
sufferer's lips. 

6. A prayer for vindication. 16:18 to 17:3. Job's 
sense of the divine anger reaches a climax in 16 : 6-17. 
Torn and bleeding, his face red with weeping, he asserts 
his integrity, and breaks out into a loud cry for vindica- 
tion. Let not the earth cover his innocent blood ! Then, 
turning to God, Job appeals to the inner God of grace 
and justice to maintain his right with the God of outward 
providence, who now afflicts him. Job's cry for a Divine 
Umpire, or Mediator, is a prophecy of the Incarnation 
and the Atonement. This great longing in the human 
soul receives satisfaction in the person and work of the 
Christ. Job closes with no hope. 17 : 6-16. 

7. A confession of faith. 19 : 25-27. There must be 



52 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

a future life, and in that future day my Kinsman-Re- 
deemer shall vindicate me. God shall no longer appear 
y enemy, but as my friend. On bleeding hands and 
feet, the suffering saint of this early time has climbed 
up the rough mountain side until, at last, with beating 
heart, he gets a glimpse over the crest into the glorious 
life beyond. 

In 19:23,24, Job expresses an earnest wish that his 
protestation of innocence mig' : to all gen- 

IIc then rises to a higher platform, an 
clares his firm assurance. r death, he will be 

vindicated ' '.:-.• 

redeemer, i ng men to the 1 id-relation, 

on whom certain dttl 1 in connection with the 

The Go*el avenged the 
murder of his kinsn.;. or his 

rty that I from his ; ; and 

;eral represented him after his diath. In the pro- 
phetic Scriptup • ed and wider 

tenement for sin. God i 1. of 

Redeemer, of I ind of individual believers. Isa. 

: 14; 103:4. 

"Without my flesh" i> in the Hebrew somewhat am- 
biguous. It might mean, "Looking from my ft 
see <i I have surrendered my flesh, 

mbodicd spirit, shall see < ::is to 

be the true meaning — i.e., "A:' died under the 

ravages of my d >d." 

"Mine eves -hall behold, and not a stranger," might 
mean, "I myself, and not some other, shall see him," or 
.11 see him, not as a stranger, or opponent, but as 
a friend." The latter is prefer 

"My reins consume within me" means "my feelings 
overcome me." 

Job's anguish is not so acute after this magnificent 
declaration of faith, though his intellectual difficulties 
remain, and he still longs for an interview with God be- 



JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 53 

fore death. He finally puts his three friends completely 
to rout, and challenges the Almighty to enter into judg- 
ment with him (31:35-40). At the close of Elihu's 
speech, the Almighty responds to Job's challenge. The 
vision of God awes Job into silence: he will not try to 
reply to Jehovah (40:1-5). At the close of Jehovah's 
second address, Job confesses his ignorance and his sin- 
fulness. He leaves himself entirely in God's hands 
(42:1-6). 

Satan has signally failed to make Job renounce God. 
In the midst of bereavement and bodily affliction, he bows 
in penitence before the Almighty. He can trust Jehovah, 
without an explanation of the afflictions that have over- 
taken him. He no longer demands to know why the 
righteous suffer, while the wicked often prosper. Faith 
lifts the sorely tried saint above his doubts and per- 
plexities. 

The test is at an end. Satan's work is reversed by 
Jehovah, who restores Job to a prosperity twice as great 
as that he formerly enjoyed. Weeping came in to 
lodge during the long night of trial, but joy came in the 
morning (42 : 7-17) . 

35. THE THEOLOGY OF THE BOOK OF JOB 

The book must be interpreted as a whole. What did 
God reveal through the inspired author? We can only 
indicate certain doctrines that receive special emphasis in 
Job. 

I. The Teaching as to Satan. 

1. He is the adversary of good men. We cannot infer 
from the company he keeps that he is a good angel, a 
son of God. Some would make him a servant of God 
to whom has been committed the business of opposing 
men in their pretensions to a right standing before God. 
See Job 1 and Zechariah 3:1. He is not good, nor is he 



M THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

morally indifferent ; for he takes a malignant pleasure in 
accusing the pious before God. He richly deserves re- 
buke for trying to incite God against good men (Zech. 
3:2). He really tries to make Job renounce God; and 
he attempts to secure the rejection of the high priest 
Joshua. He is the accuser, the slanderer of the saints. 
lie can afflict and greatly hinder good men. 

2. Satan is subject to the power of God, and can do 
nothing without His permission. We may well rejoice 
that he is neither omnipotent nor omniscient nor onini- 

»lt ( though far i rig man in power, cunning, 
and • 

3. The I from other Scriptures, 
leaves the attitude i Almighl 

some doubt ; though 1 >.. . 

that he l- honor" (Davidson's Old 

Testament '. 13-4). 

II. The Teaching as to God's Nature and Character. 

1. ages from all the speaker- in the book 
portray tl ■ m, and In 

2. His justice in dispensing md penaltii 

earth is the subject I solu- 

tion in the future life. 

3. The God who presides over cuter con- 
I by Job with the inner God, the God of provi- 
dential rule with the God of love and faithfulness. This 

toward the doctrine ill the 

Godhead. Job's appeal from God to God rev- 
need of the human soul that could only be satisfied by 
the coming of the Son of God as the Mediator and 
Saviour. 

III. The Teaching as tc Eschatology. 

1. Sheol cannot hold the righteous in prison and away 
from the presence of God. Compare Psalms 16, 17, 49, 
and 73. 



JOB, THE SORELY TRIED SAINT 55 

2. There will be a judgment after death. The inno- 
cent sufferer will be vindicated, while the persecutors will 
be in danger. 

3. The resurrection of the body is not clearly taught; 
but the way is prepared for the coming of that doctrine. 

IV. The New View of Suffering in the Book. 

Afflictions may be sent upon the righteous as a trial 
of their faith. If patiently borne, they lead to higher 
knowledge of God, a deepening of trust, a beautifying of 
character, and other rewards. They do not mean that 
God is angry with His servants. Moreover, God wishes 
His servants to trust Him, even in the dark. He does 
not try to vindicate His ways by argument, but shows 
Himself to the sufferer, that He may widen and deepen 
his thought of God's greatness. We can well afford to 
leave our case with the wise Creator and Preserver of 
all things. Trust Him always and everywhere ! 



Chapter IV 

THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 

THE family of Jacob, in the course of centuries in 
Egypt, grew into a nation. A new king arose who 
knew not Joseph ; and, at his suggestion, the Egyptians 
put the Hebrews tinder the yoke as bondmen. The E 
tians "made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar 
and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field" 
(Ex. 1:14). Aa the Hebrews continued to grow and 
multiply, notwithstanding the rigor of their bondage, the 
decree went forth thai all their male children should be 
put to death at birth (Ex. 1 : 15-22 i. In these troublous 
times a beautiful babe was born in a Hebrew home, who 
was predestined to be the deliverer, leader, and lawgiver 
of Israel. 

36. PRESERVATION AND EDUCATION OF MOSES 

The beautiful story of the babe in the basket-boat is 
such a favorite with children that we do not need to 
repeat it here. The mother of Moses, in her plai 
save the life of her babe, happily combined faith and 
common sense. She did all that she could to achieve 
success, and trusted in Jehovah for His blessing on her 
efforts. She placed the ark where it would be found by 
the good princess, and set her daughter near by to make 
a happy suggestion at the right moment. Recent students 
of the mind are putting great emphasis on the power of 
suggestion. Happy the person who knows how to make 
a good suggestion at the psychological moment ! 

The babe was adopted by the princess as her son, and 
56 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 57 

his earliest education was entrusted to his own loving 
mother. Pharaoh's daughter offered her wages ; but what 
wages did she wish other than the privilege of nursing 
her own babe under the protection of the court? While 
he was still a toddling infant, the boy learned the secret 
of his Hebrew birth, and received at his mother's knee 
a religious training that shaped his whole future career. 
These early years were the most important in his educa- 
tion. God brought it to pass that the oppressor should 
protect and train the deliverer of Israel. 

While yet a small boy, Moses was taken into the palace 
as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. The best teachers in 
the land trained him, until he was instructed in all the 
wisdom of Egypt. No doubt Moses received his school- 
ing in one of the best universities of the time. Promo- 
tion awaited him in any form of public service he might 
choose to enter, whether army, or navy, or civil rdminis- 
tration. 

37. THE CHOICE OF MOSES 

The education of Moses is complete. He stands forth 
as a man in the prime of his powers, to do a man's work. 
He makes up his mind to cast in his lot with the people 
of God. He decides to visit his Hebrew brethren, and 
see how they fare. His soul was stirred by the sight of 
the heavy burdens laid upon them. When at length he 
came upon a cruel Egyptian beating a Hebrew, his wrath 
burst forth. "And he looked this way and that way, and 
when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyp- 
tian, and hid him in the sand" (Ex. 2: 12). The fierce 
temper of Moses, which here burst all bounds, was later 
brought under admirable control, so that he became the 
meekest and most enduring man of his time (Num. 
12:3). 

The choice of Moses "rather to share ill-treatment with 
the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for 



58 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

a season," was a noble choice. The method, however, 
by which he undertook to deliver his people was rash and 
foolish. Almost immediately after the murder of the 
cruel Egyptian, Moses was compelled to flee for his life 
beyond the borders of Egypt. It seemed that his life 
must now prove a failure. In the wilderness of Midian 
he became a shepherd. A man trained to rule over an 
empire must now keep sheep for a living ! 

38. THE CALL OF MOSES 

While Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law 
near Horeb, in the peninsula of Sinai, the angel of Je- 
hovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst 
of a bush. When the bush kept burning without being 
consumed (an apt illustration of the preservation of 
Israel in the fiery trial of Egyptian bondage), Moses 
turned aside to see why the bush was not consumed. 
God at once directed Moses to take off his sandals and 
stand at a respectful distance. Jehovah announces the 
good news that He has seen the affliction of Israel in 
Egypt, and is come down to deliver them from their op- 
pressors. He calls Moses to undertake the task of I 
ing Israel out of Egypt. 

It seems to Moses that he is the last man in the world 
for such a task ; for he had tried once and signally failed. 
"I will surely be with thee," is the reply of God. Under 
divine leadership, Moses will not fail (Ex. 3:1-12). 
Moses now inquires more particularly as to the divine 
name. "Who is it that sends me to Israel? What is the 
name of the God who will deliver the children of Israel 
from bondage?" God replies: "Thus shalt thou say unto 
the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." 
Henceforth His memorial name, as the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, shall be Jehovah. As the God of grace 
and redemption, God Almighty (El Shaddai) wishes to 
be known as Jehovah. The revelation of power and 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 59 

mercy made to the patriarchs will be greatly surpassed 
in the redemptive grace about to be made known to their 
descendants (Ex. 3:13-22; 6:2-8). The children of 
Israel are to have experimental knowledge of God's grace 
superior to any revelation of earlier times. 

Moses now raises the objection that his people will 
not believe him, when he tells them that Jehovah has sent 
him to deliver them. God equips him with three mir- 
aculous signs as evidences of a divine call (Ex. 4: 
1-9). 

A third objection occurs to Moses: he is not a good 
speaker. Let Jehovah seek a more eloquent messenger. 
Jehovah replies: "I will be with thy mouth, and teach 
thee what thou shalt speak" (Ex. 4: 10-12). 

Excuses having failed, Moses tries to beg off entirely : 
"Send any one except me." The anger of Jehovah was 
kindled against Moses, as it is against all who refuse 
to hear His call to any form of service, however difficult, 
and He makes him dependent on Aaron as his spokes- 
man (Ex. 4: 13-16). The two brothers meet at Horeb, 
and set out together to undertake the task of delivering 
Israel from bondage. They assemble the elders of Israel, 
who rejoice over the good news that Jehovah has come 
down to deliver them (Ex. 4: 27-31). 

39. CONTEST BETWEEN MOSES AND PHARAOH 

Moses and Aaron had an audience with the king of 
Egypt, requesting that the children of Israel be allowed 
to go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Jehovah, 
their God. Pharaoh understood fully that this was only 
a polite way of asking that the Israelites be permitted to 
leave Egypt, no more to serve as bondmen. He re- 
sponded by making their work heavier than before. He 
boldly defied Jehovah, as a God unknown and powerless 
to execute His purposes. Under the lash of the task- 
master, the soul of Israel was more distressed than it had 



60 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

been. Even Moses seemed on the point of giving up, be- 
cause Jehovah did not at once deliver His people (Ex. 
5:1-23). 

When Pharaoh refused to hearken to the sign of the 
rod that became a serpent, Jehovah brought in rapid 
succession the Ten Plagues upon the land of Egypt. The 
plagues became heavier with each refusal of Pharaoh to 
release the people of Jehovah. The conduct of Pharaoh 
had been described to Moses before he returned to Egypt. 
Jehovah foresaw the stubbornness and deceit with which 
Pharaoh would resist the attempt to lead Israel out of 
Egypt, and announced to Moses that He would harden 
Pharaoh's heart, so that he would resist the divine will to 
the bitter end. It may be instructive to notice the Scrip- 
ture report of Pharaoh's attitude at the close of each 
plague. After the first plague, Pharaoh's heart "was 
strong. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, 
neither did he lay even this to heart" (Ex. 7:22,23). 
When the plague of frogs had been removed, "Pharaoh 
made heavy his heart" (Ex. 8:15). The third plague 
made the magicians exclaim, "This is the finger of God ;" 
but 'Tharaoh's heart was strong, and he hearkened not 
unto them" (Ex. 8: 19). When the plague of flies was 
removed, Pharaoh once more "made his heart heavy," 
and refused to let Israel go ( Ex. 8 : 32). Divine forbear- 
ance gave Pharaoh another chance A grievous murrain 
destroyed the cattle of the Egyptians, while of the cattle 
of the children of Israel not one died. For the fifth time 
"the heart of Pharaoh was heavy, and he did not let 
the people go" (Ex. 9:7). At the close of the sixth 
plague, we read for the first time that "Jehovah hardened 
(made strong) Pharaoh's heart." The stubborn and de- 
ceitful king had repeatedly refused to bow to the will of 
Tehovah. The God of the Hebrews now informs the 
haughty monarch that He will send all His plagues upon 
his heart and upon his people. He means to make of 
Pharaoh an object lesson and a warning to all the world 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 61 

(Ex. 9 : 13-16). The thunderings and hail of the seventh 
plague so terrified Pharaoh that he confessed that he 
was in the wrong, and promised to let Israel go. The 
false king broke his promise again, as soon as relief came, 
"and hardened (made heavy) his heart, he and his serv- 
ants" (Ex. 9:34,35). His day of grace is past. Noth- 
ing remains but divine retribution for such treachery and 
stubbornness. At the close of the eighth plague, "Jehovah 
hardened (made strong) Pharaoh's heart" (Ex. 10:20). 
The plague of darkness leads Pharaoh to offer to let all 
the people go into the wilderness, if only their flocks and 
herds remain in Egypt. When Moses rejects the offer, 
"Jehovah hardened (made strong) Pharaoh's heart, and 
he would not let them go" (Ex. 10: 27). When Jehovah 
smote the first-born at midnight throughout Egypt, Pha- 
raoh at last gave his consent to let all the people and their 
flocks go. But it was not many days until he regretted 
the step he had taken, and set out in pursuit of the Israel- 
ites to bring them back as slaves. Jehovah shook off His 
puny adversary in the Red Sea, and thus made him a 
warning to all who begin to resist His will. 

What God did to Pharaoh He will do to men now, if 
they imitate that lying and stubborn king. The man who 
begins to harden his heart will presently find God co- 
operating with him through the laws of the mind. He 
will pluck up courage to fight God to a finish ; and that 
course spells destruction. 

40. THE PASSOVER 

The blood sprinkled on the side-posts and the lintels 
of the Israelite homes on the passover night was sacri- 
ficial blood. The blood of the innocent lamb slain for 
the passover atoned for the people who sprinkled it on 
their doors. The whole story of the institution of the 
passover is instructive to the Christian ; for Christ is our 
passover. To the devout Israelite this annual feast was 



62 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

a reminder of the grace of Jehovah in sparing the first- 
born of Israel on the night when He led forth the people 
from the house of bondage. 



41. ISRAEL ENRICHED WITH PRESENTS 

On the night of the passover, when the Egyptians were 
urgent that the Jehovah should at once depart 

from the land, the I I for rich present! of 

jewels and raiment. uggestion of borr o w 

■ 
their i 12: 3 '- ' , 

rich gir 1 to build the 

costly tabernacle and its furnil 

■ 

mixed multitn'' 
and march forth n 

1 multitude of foreigners later led 

I into sin ( Num. 11:4). 

42. pillar < 

By day and by night Jel 

Israel a v: 

before them to lead tl « m in tl 

tians pursued them 

cloud removed from before th< 

tians. Jehovah thus encouraged His 
people to look t them 

through all their journey from the land of bondage to 
the land of promise. 

43. DELIVERANCE AT THE RED SEA 

The contest with Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt be- 
fore the Exodus gave Jehovah occasion to display His 
power in the ten plagues. He now decided to show forth 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 63 

His power and grace toward Israel by a more signal vic- 
tory over Pharaoh and his host. He leads Israel into a 
position from which it would seem to be impossible for 
them to escape from the pursuit of a trained army. 
Pharaoh, whose stubborn heart refused to learn the les- 
son his experience ought to have impressed upon him, at 
once resolved to pursue the runaway slaves and bring 
them back to their former tasks. Boldly pushing into 
the arm of the sea, which had been miraculously opened 
before the Israelites, Pharaoh and his host perished under 
the returning waters. Jehovah, by this signal deliverance 
of Israel, made good His title as the owner of the chosen 
people. He redeemed them and made them His forever. 
He left Israel without the slightest excuse to forsake Him 
for the worship of other gods. This notable deliverance 
could not fade from the memory of Israel. It was used 
by prophets and psalmists of later generations as an un- 
answerable argument for loyalty to Jehovah on the part 
of Israel. We, who have been redeemed by the blood of 
Christ, are under even stronger obligations to honor and 
serve the One who redeemed us from sin and took us into 
fellowship with Himself. 

Moses celebrated the grace and power of Jehovah in a 
song of singular beauty and fervor. We, too, do well to 
celebrate the mercies of the God who has delivered us 
from the slavery of sin. If the deliverance at the Red 
Sea was worthy of commemoration in song, how much 
more the redemption through the cross ! We should 
girdle the earth with songs of gratitude and praise to our 
Redeemer. 

44. TRIALS OF THE DESERT 

Jehovah led Israel into a barren region where bread 
and water could not be found in quantity sufficient 
for the sustenance of a great host. Would the people 
trust Him as a God able and willing to give them all that 



(31 THE HEART 01 THE OLD TESTAW 

they needed? Were not His power and grace sufficiently 
manifest in the deliverance from Pharaoh to make them 
lean upon Him for help in tin v danger? 

Before we allow our»elves to look upon the fearful, mur- 
muri: inferior to ( n f aith, it would 

■ 11 to try to put 0U1 :i in their 

The trials of the march through the wild* : 

n we in:.. I 1 lunger and 

Lied then: I at Sinai, and 

• 

ng wilderness juun ■ itua- 

tii'ii \' 

and little childn 

their r tO assail the 

■ 

l the 

•a be- 

I 

1 lim to find a r murmuring 

I in the twentieth ccntun 
the 1 
J el 

for them the hitter I gave 

them bread from he... I .r hunger 1-36). 

.: God 
fed 1 I 

would have, rah had not 

graciously fed them in a miraculous way. When the 
supply of water fai'. :sed a copious stream to 

flow 'from the rock in I 17 17). When 

enem: 1 the camp, Jehovah gave victory to the 

men of war under Joshua ( Ex. 17 : 8-16). Moses helped 
with his prayers and Joshua with his sword. 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 65 

45. A BUSY LEADER 

While Israel was encamped at Rephidim, near Sinai, 
Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, came to visit him, bring- 
ing with him the wife and the two sons of Moses. He re- 
joiced greatly because of Jehovah's great kindness to His 
oppressed people, and worshiped Him with a burnt-offer- 
ing and sacrifices (Ex. 18: 1-12). Jethro observed Moses 
surrounded by the people all day long with cases requir- 
ing his attention as leader and judge in Israel. He sug- 
gested a division of labor by the organization of the 
people into thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens, 
with a leader over each group with authority to settle all 
disputes except the most difficult : only great matters were 
to be brought before Moses. This sensible plan, which 
was at once adopted, brought much relief to the busy 
leader of Israel. The divine presence and leadership in 
Israel did not relieve Moses from the necessity of exer- 
cising common sense and good judgment in his work. 
We may note, in passing, how an outsider may render 
signal service to the people of God by bringing to their 
aid his valuable experience and business sense (Ex. 
18:13-27). 

46. THE GIVING OF THE LAW 

Perhaps not more than a year had passed away after 
the call of Moses at Horeb, when he found himself back 
at the sacred mount at the head of a great host of people. 
It had been an eventful and significant year in the history 
of the kingdom of God. Jehovah, after long waiting, had 
redeemed the seed of Abraham from bondage, and 
brought them to Himself in the wilderness, apart from 
the busy life of the world, that He might impart to them 
His laws and precepts. The year spent at Sinai, though 
not so stirring and eventful as that immediately preced- 
ing, was truly epoch-making; for it witnessed the an- 



66 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

nouncement of the Ten Commandments from the smok- 
ing mount, the ratification of the covenant between Je- 
hovah and Israel, and the promulgation of most of the 
civil and ceremonial laws that were to govern the life of 
the people of Jehovah. 

As a preparation for the meeting with Jehovah, the 
people were to become ceremonially clean, and to show 
reverence by not drawing nigh to gaze, 1< rath of 

Jehovah consume them. Sinners cannot with safety press 
into the immediate presence of the holy God 
19:1-15). 

When all wai ready, Jehovah manifested His glory on 

Mount Sinai with thunders and lightnings, and a thick 

cloud, and the voice of a truni] id. Moses 

it from the camp to God and hear 

commandments. Jehovah thin proclaimed to the 

trembling people at the foot of Mount Sinai th- 

|j which lie at the foundation of 1 law 

in the 

«L We re ser ve for special treatment, in 

i hapter, the t gnificai '. civil, and 

hastse the fact 
that God condescend ik in the hearing of ■ na- 

tion the commandments that W( late their I 

conduct. I ■ iany ordinano 

Statutes fur the direction of the I 

in the administration of justi 23). The 

accept t: r into 

nt to observe them (Ex. 24: 1-8). Je- 

\aron and otb to a 

l of His glorious presence on the mount (Ex. 

24:9-11). 

Moses next enters the glory on the mount for a long 
interview with Jehovah. He receives the pattern of the 
tabernacle and of its furniture (Ex. 25 to 31). 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 67 

47, THE BREACH OF THE COVENANT AND ITS RENEWAL 

Moses tarries so long in the mountain that the people 
grow impatient and decide to make for themselves gods 
to lead them from Sinai. Aaron's weakness as a leader 
lies on the surface of the narrative. Instead of rebuking 
the people for impatience and rebellion against the com- 
mandments of Jehovah, he asks for jewels with which 
to fashion an image, and makes a golden calf. Perhaps 
he thought he could stem the tide setting in toward idola- 
try by proclaiming a feast to Jehovah. The people might 
worship before the image ; but they could at least recog- 
nize Jehovah as their God (Ex. 32: 1-6). 

The anger of Jehovah was kindled against the rebel- 
lious nation at the foot of the mountain. But for the 
intercession of Moses, He would have consumed them. 
The nobility of Moses nowhere appears to greater advan- 
tage than in his intercessory prayers for his sinful people 
(Ex. 32:9-14, 31-32; 34:9; Num. 11:2; 12:13; 
14 : 1 1-24 ; Deut. 9 : 12-20, 25-29 ; 33 : 1-29) . Rejecting 
all offers of personal promotion as the father of a na- 
tion to grow up under Jehovah's protecting care, he 
pleaded with unselfish devotion that God would forgive 
Israel and lead them into the land promised to Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. Jehovah heard the intercession of 
Moses and spared them for his sake. 

But when Moses drew near to the riotous camp and 
caught sight of the idol and the dancing, his anger waxed 
hot, and he dashed the precious tables of the law to 
pieces at the foot of the mountain. Seizing the image 
of the calf, he cast it into the fire, ground it to powder, 
and scattered the ashes in the brook, that the people 
might be made to drink their miserable god (Ex. 
32: 15-20). After rebuking Aaron for his part in the sin, 
Moses called for volunteers to destroy the leaders of the 
rebellion against Jehovah from the camp. The tribe of 
Levi rallied about Moses, and cut down about three thou- 



68 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

sand of the traitors (Ex. 32:21-29). Moses again as- 
cends the mountain to plead with Jehovah to forgive the 
sin of the people. Jehovah promises that His angel shall 
go before the people; but announces that the return of 
God's presence to the sinful camp will mean punishment 
for transgressors (Ex. 32: 30-35). 

Israel having broken the covenant, Jehovah is free to 
do as He pleases. He offers to send an angel before 
them to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan; but lie 
refuses to go up in person among such a stiff-necked 
people. He orders the proud sinners to strip themselves 
of all their ornaments (Ex. 33: 1-6). Keenly sensible of 
his helplessness, Moses pleads for a deeper knowledge of 
Jehovah and His ways. lie begs that Jehovah will lead 
His people in person (Ex. 33: 12-16). 

When Jeln-vah promises onre more to be Israel's 
leader, Moses pi n lation of His glory. 

The history of religion shows that the man who is liv- 
ing in close fellowship with God is the one who 
longs for a yet dearer vision of the divine glory. Je- 
hovah gives to Moses as full a revelation of His char- 
acter and glory as it was possible for him to have and 
yet live (Ex. 33: 17 to 34:9). lie renei i nant 

with Israel (Ex. 34:10-28). 

48. THE SHIN 

When Moses descended from the glorious experience 
with God in the mount, his face shone with celestial 
brightness. The people were at first afraid to draw near 
to him by reason of the glory of his countenance ; but 
when he called to them, they drew near to listen to his 
words. Very instructive is this experience of the servant 
of Jehovah. Long waiting in the immediate presence of 
God illumines the face of the believer and makes him 
awe-inspiring to sinners. Thus the face of Stephen, as 
he sat on trial for his life, looked to the observer "as it 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 69 

had been the face of an angel" (Acts 6: 15). The longer 
the saint stays away from close communion with God the 
more does the glory of his face and life fade. If the life 
is to be full of celestial glory, the interviews with God 
must be frequent and prolonged (2 Cor. 3 : 12-18). With 
the Christian the transformation from glory to glory 
is not dependent on time or place. An uninterrupted fel- 
lowship with the Lord Jesus is all that is required. It is 
also a mark of the true saint that he is surprised to learn 
that his face shines with heavenly glory. He wonders 
that men should discover in his life such brightness that 
they are reminded of the glory of God. 

49. THE TABERNACLE BUILT 

The Israelites had willingly given the treasure required 
to make the golden calf. Would Israel give freely for 
God's house? Proclamation was made that a free-will 
offering should be made of materials for the construction 
of the Tabernacle and all its furniture. The gifts that 
were brought every morning by both men and women 
soon amounted to more than was needed. The Taber- 
nacle, and the ark, and the altars, and all the vessels were 
fashioned according to the pattern Moses had seen in the 
mount. When all was ready for use, the cloud covered 
the tent and the glory of Jehovah filled the Tabernacle. 
The public worship of the congregation of Israel had at 
last a central sanctuary (Ex. 35 to 40). 

The rules of acceptable worship at the sanctuary are 
now given through Moses (Lev. 1 to 7). Aaron and 
his sons are set apart as priests. Nadab and Abihu are 
slain for offering strange fire before Jehovah, perhaps 
when drunk (Lev. 8 to 10). The ceremonial laws as to 
cleanliness of persons, houses, foods, social life, etc., are 
given in detail (Lev. 11 to 27). The numbering of the 
people, the order of march, additional ceremonial re- 
quirements, and the offerings of the princes of the tribes 



70 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

for the Tabernacle, etc., are described in the early chap- 
ters of Numbers (Num. 1 : 1 to 10: 10). 

50. THE JOURNEY FROM SINAI To 

The peo] inai, with the cloud of glory lead- 

ing them toward Canaan (Num. 10: 11-36). Soon mur- 
murings break out among the p multi- 

tude begin to long after the flesh-pots of 
becomes discouraged under nil heav) burden, and begs 
for n Ipirit upon seventy i 

of Israel, and they prophesy; but they sinn not to have 

.w.rthy of such 
only one day. The beautiful up bines 

out in his VTlflfa that all the L< phetl 

like I ;:m. 11 ). 

Human natu: ry imperfect A family 

atUUT Mi nam and Aaron on the one 

hand and lute wife on the other. 

Miriam v.. jttlow of the power of the wife of 

over the ler. It is evident from the se- 

hastisement inflicted Upon Miriam that she v. 

the wrong. Ifi rah on behalf of his 

erring sister, and Nam. 12: 1-15). 

51. THE FAILURL AT KADI.SII 

HaYing arrived near the southern border of the prom- 
ised land. V , the country to learn 
all they could about the land and its inhabitants. Ten of 
the spies brought back a very discouraging report, stating 
that, while the land was fertile and attractive, the inhabi- 
tants were too strong for Israel to hope to drive them out. 
Caleb and Joshua tried to stem the tide of discourage- 
ment and despair that swept over the assembly. Open 
revolt against the leadership of Moses broke forth, and 
for the moment Caleb and foshua were in danger of ston- 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 71 

ing at the hands of the angry mob. Israel had come to a 
great crisis, and the people were unequal to the strain. 
Jehovah threatened to destroy them, and offered again to 
make of Moses and his descendants a great nation. Once 
again the unselfish leader prayed mightily for the faith- 
less people. Jehovah heard his prayer, but announced 
that He would not lead that cowardly generation into 
Canaan. They were doomed to perish in the wilderness 
for their repeated rebellion. Jehovah would lead their 
children into the promised land (Num. 12:16 to 14: 
45). 

52. THE YEARS OF WANDERING 

The trials of Moses during the long period of aimless 
wandering in the wilderness must have been very severe. 
The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against the 
priestly supremacy of Aaron and the authority of Moses 
as leader was but one of many trying experiences (Num. 
16). 

53. THE SIN OF MOSES AND AARON 

In the first month of the fortieth year, after nearly 
thirty-eight years of wandering and waiting, Israel is 
back at Kadesh-barnea again. Here Miriam dies. The 
generation that came out of Egypt has perished in the 
wilderness, and a new generation has grown up in its 
stead. Will the sons endure affliction any better than 
their fathers? Jehovah tests them by letting the supply 
of water fail. Like their fathers, they murmur and com- 
plain. The patience of Moses and Aaron at length fails 
them, and they make a proud address to the rebellious 
people. Moses in anger smites the rock twice; whereas 
God had commanded him merely to speak to it. Because 
they thus dishonor the holy God in the presence of the 
people, Moses and Aaron are told that they will not be 



72 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

permitted to lead Israel into the promised land (Num. 
20:1-13). 

When God puts men before the world as His repre- 
sentatives, He holds them to a strict account. Unbelief 
in a great leader of God's people brings reproach upon 
God Himself. If even Moses, after a long career of 
singular faithfulness, finally failed through human weak- 
ness, who may presume upon his past achievements? "Let 
him that thin'keth he standcth take heed lest he fall." 

54. CLOSING LABORS OF MOSES 

Aaron died on Mount Hor. Moses, too, must soon 
lay down having refuse! 

through 1 : ' thc 

south and then '' country 

D thc way 

At thc command of 

I put it u; 

who believed in Jehi unto the 

I Mir Lord saw in this 

story a type of Himself on the cross, as the appointed 

mean tfon for all who will look to Ilim in faith 

(John 3: 14, 15). 

*The fertile districts east of the Jordan were conq-: 
by Israel under the leadership oi 

im. 21:21-35). Balak sent for the famous 
Balaam, b ■ d ; but Jehovah made him thc rather 

to bless them (Num. 22 to 24 I. The covetous pn 
disappointed over his failure to secure a rich n 
from the king of Moab, sought revenge by inducing the 
women of Moab and Midian to invite the Israelites to 
join in the lascivious rites of Baal worship. He was slain 
by the Israelites in the war against Midian (Num. 
25:1-18; 31:8,16). 

Moses asks Jehovah to name a man to lead Israel alter 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA 73 

his death, and Jehovah directs him to ordain Joshua as 
his successor (Num. 27:12-23). Many ceremonial and 
civil ordinances were given through Moses in these clos- 
ing months of his life (Num. 25 to 36). 

55. DEUTERONOMY 

This is one of the great books of the Old Testament. 
The aged lawgiver pours out his heart in earnest appeals 
to his people to love Jehovah and keep all His command- 
ments. He reviews all the mighty acts of Jehovah in 
behalf of Israel, and exhorts Israel to be faithful and 
obedient. The style is free and flowing, as befits popular 
address. The Jews made no mistake in choosing six 
verses from Deuteronomy as the essence of their re- 
ligion, which Jewish lads were required to commit to 
memory before being admitted to membership in the syna- 
gogue (Deut. 6:4-9). Jesus, who was fond of Deuter- 
onomy, makes Deuteronomy 6 : 5 the first and greatest 
commandment. He placed alongside of it Lev. 19:18. 
The presence of these two sentences in the Pentateuch 
is alone sufficient to make the followers of Jesus revere 
these ancient books. 

Moses not only delivered addresses in his closing days, 
but also "wrote this law" and delivered it to the priests 
for safe-keeping (Deut. 31:9). While we are nowhere 
told that Moses wrote every line of the Pentateuch, his 
activity as a writer is expressly asserted in the Penta- 
teuch (Ex. 17:14; 34:27; Num. 33:2; Deut. 31:9,22, 
24-26). All Israel's historians and prophets and psalm- 
ists are agreed in ascribing the Law to Moses, and many 
of them speak of him as an author. Our Lord Jesus 
gave His endorsement to the view that Moses was a 
writer of Scripture (John 5 : 45-47) . Modern radical criti- 
cism has gone too far in its opposition to Mosaic author- 
ship. The plain reader who ascribes everything in the 



74 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Pentateuch to Moses as the responsible author is nearer 
the truth than the modern critics who talk learnedly of a 
host of unknown authors and editors. 

Four poems are ascribed to Moses (Ex. 15; Deut. 32; 
33; Psalm 90), all of them majestic in thought and ex- 
pression. 

56. GENERAL ESTIMATE OF MOSES 

1. Moses was the greatest prophet of the Old Testa- 
ment. God communed with him face to face (Num. 
12:6-8; Deut. 34:10-12). Moses was a type of Jesus 
as prophet (Deut. 18: 15-19). 

2. The great Lawgiver. "The law was given by 
Moses" (John 1: 17). lie thus shaped the moral, civil, 
and ceremonial law for the chosen nation. 

3. A prince of intercessors (Jer. 15 : 1 ). He was thor- 
oughly unselfish in his praying (Deut. 9: 18-20, 25-29). 

4. The meekest man of his time (Num. 12:3). Pa- 
tient and persevering, he stood up under a load that would 
have crushed almost any one else. Michael Angelo's great 
statue properly represents him as a man of great physical 
strength. 

5. A great soul-winner. He induced his nation to put 
their trust in Jehovah. His skill and perseverance in win- 
ning Hobab to join the people of Jehovah are instructive 
and inspiring to soul-winners to-day (Num. 10: 29-32). 

57. JOSHUA CONQUERS CANAAN 

Joshua had been the trusted helper of Moses for forty 
years. It was a sad day for him when Moses ascended 
to the top of Pisgah nevermore to lead the host of Israel. 
But he took up the unfinished task of his great captain, 
and led Israel across the Jordan to the conquest of 
Canaan. Joshua was well qualified for the work in hand ; 
for he was a great general. Jehovah gave him special 



THE ERA OF MOSES AND JOSHUA !75 

tokens of His presence and blessing at the crossing of 
the Jordan and at the capture of Jericho (Josh. 1 to 6). 
The temporary reverse at Ai, caused by the covetous deed 
of Achan, was speedily followed by victory (Josh. 7, 8). 
Joshua drove the wedge through the center of the land by 
his great victory at Gibeon. He at once overran the 
southern part of the country (Josh. 9,10). He then 
turned his attention to the north, and crushed the power- 
ful league of Jabin by the waters of Merom (Josh. 
11 : 1-15). Jehovah gave him victory in all parts of the 
land (Josh. 11 : 16 to 12:24). 

58. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CANAANITES 

The work of destroying completely the wicked peoples 
inhabiting Canaan was entrusted to Israel as an object 
lesson. They were made the executioners of the wrath 
of the holy God against peoples sunk in vice and corrup- 
tion so great that there was no hope of reclaiming them. 
Skeptics have made a great outcry against the Bible and 
against the God of the Bible because of the command to 
exterminate the Canaanites. We must be frank enough 
to recognize the difficulty. Of course, no Christian nation 
could now treat a barbarous people thus without raising 
a storm of protest from the civilized world. While 
frankly recognizing the fact that such a program would 
not, in these days of Christian light, be recognized as 
coming from God, we ought not, therefore, to conclude 
that the Pentateuch and Joshua made a mistake in repre- 
senting the command as coming from Jehovah. In the 
days of Moses and Joshua, and for centuries afterward, 
the nations in and around Canaan recognized the right 
of peoples to devote their enemies to destruction in a holy 
war. The consciences of the Israelites did not rebel 
against such a war, as our enlightened Christian con- 
sciences would. Hence it was possible to use the Israel- 
ites in that early time as executioners of the just wrath 



76 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

of God against the hopelessly corrupt Canaanites. In- 
stead of employing pestilence or earthquake, Jehovah saw 
fit to destroy them by the sword of Israel. The km 
would thus be driven deep into the minds of the children 
of Israel that moral corruption finally leads to a frightful 

doom. „ , 

Israel did not, as a matter of fact, carry out fully the 
work of destroying the wicked tribes in Canaan. Many 
were left, who later taught Israel the impure rites of 
heathen life and worship. 

59. SETTLEMENT OF THE TRIBES 

If Joshua's first great work was the conquest of 
Canaan, the second was the division of the land among 
the tribes, lie tried to stimulate the various tribes to 
complete the conquest of the land in every part (Josh. 
13 to 21). 

(X). josi; xvs 

Imitating the great lead< ' ' 

la to the people ' laid down his work (Josh. 

23 and 24). He tried to commit Israel for all future 
time to faithfulness to Jehovah. H« led in quick- 

ening for the moment the loyalty of the leaders in Israel. 
As long as Joshua's associates and personal friends lived, 
the peopt mparatively faithful. Joshua left a 

noble record. There is no serious blot on his character. 



Chapter V* 

THE LAW OF MOSES 

THE uniform teaching of the Bible is that "the law 
was given through Moses" (John 1:17; 7:19; 
5 : 45-47; Luke 24 : 27). Many modern critics take issue 
with this view ; but their theories are burdened with more 
difficulties than the traditional view that Moses gave to 
Israel both its moral and its ritual laws. A brief discus- 
sion of each of the great sections of the Mosaic Law 
may well prove interesting and instructive to Christian 
students. 

61. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FUNDAMENTAL 

The ten words spoken by Jehovah from Mount Sinai 
and engraved on the two tables of stone lie at the foun- 
dation of Israel's laws. They may be described as Israel's 
constitution, all else in the Pentateuch comprising the 
statutory law. The ordinances and statutes of the civil 
and ritual law were subject to modification to meet the 
changing conditions in Israel's life; but the command- 
ments abide unchanged and unchangeable. Christian 
scholars are agreed in accepting all of these great com- 
mandments, with the possible exception of the fourth, as 
binding upon all men to the end of time. Our Lord Jesus 
and His apostles gathered up into the body of their ethi- 
cal and religious teaching these ancient prohibitions and 
precepts. Jesus took these commandments as a text for 

* Teachers using this Manual as a text-book on Old Testament 
History will omit Chapter V. 

77 



78 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

His own higher and perfect teaching. He carried them 
into the realm of thought and feeling, requiring His dis- 
ciples to abstain from anger and lust and foolish swear- 
ing, as being really violations of the commands against 
murder, adultery, and false swearing (Matt. 5: 17-37). 

62. CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TO THE SABBATH 

Christian opinion and practice have not been uniform 
with regard to the observance of the sabbath A few 
small bodies of Christians observe the seventh day (Sat- 
urday) as the stricter Jews do. Many have brought over 
into the Lord's Day (Sunday) the strict requirements of 
the lewish sabbath. 1 first day of the week as 

a Christan sabbath. These two parties insist that the law 
of the sabbath is binding upon Christians. At the other 
cxtri . ach that the sabbath idea is wholly elimi- 

nated from Christian life and teaching. They support 
their contention by our Li trict Phan- 

saic rules for the observance of the sabbath (Luke 
6-1-11; 13:10-17). and by Paul's teaching 
observance of days and seasons (Rom. W:5,6; Gal. 
4-10 11; Col. 2:ir.. 17). Most evangelical Christians 
choose a'middl rving the Lord's Day as a 

day of rest from ordinary secular labor, as well as a day 
for the worship of the risen Christ. This course 
to be more in accord with the i I our Lord, who 

observed the sabbath without regard for Pharisaic rules, 
but in the spirit and manner which God originally in- 
tended. To be sure. He asserted His 1 rer the 
sabbath (Mark 2:28) ; and He might have abrogated it 
altogether, if He had so desired. He seems, however, 
to recognize the sabbath as one of God's gifts to all man- 
kind, and not merely to the Hebrew nation, when He 
says. "The sabbath was made for man. and not man for 
the sabbath." His own example teaches that works of 
charity could be done on God's holy day; and He shows 



THE LAW OF MOSES 79 

that even the Law did not forbid works of necessity and 
mercy (Matt 12:9-14). 

The transition from the seventh day to the first day of 
the week seems to have been made in apostolic times and 
with apostolic approval (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:2; Rev. 
1 : 10). The strict requirements of the Jewish law as to 
picking up sticks or kindling fire on the sabbath were not, 
so far as we can learn, brought over into the early Chris 
tian observance of the Lord's Day as a day of rest and 
worship. Whenever the sabbath becomes a burden rather 
than a blessing, God's purpose in its institution is per- 
verted. Paul's warning against the observance of days 
was a part of his teaching against the laying of the yoke 
of the Jewish law on the necks of believers. He stood 
for Christian liberty; and would have resisted the effort 
to convert the Lord's Day into a strict Jewish sabbath. 
Perhaps most Christians now err in allowing too much 
secular labor to be brought over into the Lord's Day. 

The Ten Commandments fall naturally into two divi- 
sions: (1) Duties to God; (2) duties to our fellow men. 

63. DUTIES TO GOD 

(1) Worship only one God. This commandment is 
founded on the unity of God. The Old Testament in 
all its parts is opposed to polytheism, or the doctrine that 
there are many gods. It is the fashion now in some quar- 
ters to say that the prophets of the eighth century before 
Christ were the first to teach that there is only one God. 
The evidence for such a view is wholly inadequate. Moses 
no more believed in the existence of gods other than 
Jehovah than did Paul when he said, "There are gods 
many, and lords many" (I Cor. 8:5). 

(2) Worship God without the use of images. The 
second commandment is founded on the spirituality of 
God. There was no image of Jehovah in the Taber- 
nacle. The worship of images was expressly forbidden. 



80 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Roman Catholics are, in this matter, below the level of 
Judaism. The use of images for promoting worship is a 
relic of heathenism, and should have no place among 
Christians. 

(3) Reverence God'? nai ling for His nature, 

.ring is an insult to God. Even irrevera I 
d'l name, whether in jest or in anger, is a violation 
of the third commandment 

(A) Keep God'a day holy. I above as 

to the relation of t I lth ) 

(5) Thc 

fifth coinman.il. 1,rm 

the home. It is the first commandment with a pT 

inmit mm ' uman um 

;:e and pulpit and 

DCC in America. Homicide is frightfully 
frequent in our fair I 

(7) Do I I commit adult. 

founded on tin ( >ur L " 1 

main the inner realm • feeling as 

thoroughly 

(8) Do i :1 our guard ,1( 
filch from anot' 

(9) Do not lie. Falsehood i *her of | 
erty or reputation. The God of truth thund 
lying in all its forms. 

(10) Do not covet. This is tl internal and 
searching of all the commandments. Paul tells us how 
this prohibition revealed to him his sinfulness (Rom. 
7:7-11). Thought and desire are thus included in the 
moral world over which the God of Israel presides. He 
requires a good heart as well as a right life. 



THE LAW OF MOSES 81 

65. THE LAW OF LOVE 

Our Lord Jesus reduces the commandments of the Old 
Testament to two : ( 1 ) Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart. (2) Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself (Matt. 22 : 34-40 ; Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19 : 18) . He 
adds a third, that His followers shall love one another 
(John 13 : 34, 35). He evidently means to require a love 
among His disciples like His own great love in laying 
down His life for others (John 15 : 9-14) . All the law of 
Christ is contained in one great command: Thou shalt 
love like me ! Jesus loved the Father with all His heart, 
His neighbor as Himself, and His disciples with a love 
that led Him to lay down His life for them. He asks us 
to imitate Him in loving. Our conduct will then be per- 
fect like His. 

66. FIRST DRAFT OF THE CIVIL LAW 

The ordinances found in Exodus 21 to 23, and 34, 
while containing some laws as to religious worship, are 
for the most part statutes for the regulation of the civil 
and social life of the Israelites. Jehovah adapts Llis re- 
quirements to the people. He takes the Hebrews as they 
are, and gradually educates them in justice and mercy. 
These precepts are not final, but part of a progressive 
revelation. God tolerated things then which He would 
not allow in the Christian dispensation. The law as to 
divorce is a good example of the accommodation of the 
laws to the condition of Israel (Deut. 24: 1-4). The 
Lord Jesus expressly teaches that this lowering of God's 
thought for marriage was a concession to the hardness 
of heart of the Israelites : "Moses for your hardness of 
heart suffered you to put away your wives : but from the 
beginning it hath not been so" (Matt. 19:3-9). Many 
of the ordinances in the Mosaic Law were temporary, be- 
ing adapted to the condition of Israel in that early time. 



82 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

We are no more under bondage to the laws concerning 
slavery, polygamy, divorce, etc., than we are under the 
yoke of the Mosaic ritual. Legislators in Christian lands 
may well study these ancient laws for the regulation of 
Israel's social life; but they ought not to make the mis- 
take of supposing that it would please Jehovah to see 
them incorporated, without modification, in the statutory 
law of a modern State. 

There is a merciful side to all these statutes, if one 
studies them in the light of their origin. Abuses that 
were common among other ancient nations ar< 
forbidden in [sraeL The Law of Moses aims at protec- 
tion for the innocent and the application of rigid ji 
to the criminal. There il much use of the death-penalty 
—far more than would be fitting in for a 

modern State. Here, again, one ought to compare the 
with the Code of Hammurabi of Babylon, 
and note how much more severe are the penalties in the 

these statutes to set a higher value upon human 

to be in- 
for cold-blooded murde! and brutal 

THE RITUAL LAW 

The holiness of Jehovah lies at the foundation of the 
ritual laws of the Pentateuch: "Yc shall for 1 

Jehovah your God am holy" < 2). There is no 

"sharp distinction in the Pentateuch between the moral and 
the ceremonial. Jehovah requ moral 

uprightness and ceremonial purity. lie 1 peo- 

ple to be clean and pure in every department of their life. 
Whatever is distasteful to Jehovah is forbidden, whether 
it be a violation of the Ten Commandments or a tr 
against common decency. Vulgarity and indecency of 
every sort must be removed from the people among whom 
Jehovah dwells. Some modern readers scoff at the laws 



THE LAW OF MOSES 83 

of decency and hygiene in the Pentateuch; but they are 
needed to-day in many social groups of our own land. 
The general effect of the reading of these ancient ritual 
laws makes for improved social conditions. Their educa- 
tional value did not cease with the passing away of the 
ritual as a divine requirement. Christians may now eat 
any animal or bird or reptile, if they so desire; but the 
most wholesome meats are those which were allowed to 
the Israelites. 

68. WHAT THE LAW COULD NOT DO 

It is thought by many careless readers of the Penta- 
teuch that the sacrificial system provided atonement for 
all sorts of sins in Israel. Davidson and others have 
shown that the Levitical system provides atonement only 
for sins of ignorance and weakness, but not for sins done 
with a high hand. For sins committed unwittingly 
(through error) the sin-offering provided atonement 
(Lev. 4: 2, 3, 13, 14, 22, 23, 27, 28; 5 : 1-6). The tres- 
pass-offering likewise made atonement only for sins done 
in ignorance or through weakness (Lev. 5 : 14-19). Per- 
haps Leviticus 6:1-7 might seem to provide atonement 
for all sorts of sins ; but it is probable that here, too, the 
sins named (theft, robbery, false swearing) are consid- 
ered as flowing from human weakness. They are not 
done with a high hand. For many sins there was noth- 
ing left but a complete severance from Israel, either by 
death or expulsion from the congregation (Lev. 17: 10; 
18 : 29 ; 20 : 1-16, 27). The sacrificial system in the Penta- 
teuch made no provision for atonement and forgiveness 
for such terrible sins. The blood of bulls and goats? could 
not cover such sins. 

Even the ritual of the Day of Atonement should be 
studied in the light of the distinction between sins 
of weakness and sins of open rebellion. The sacrifices of 
that annual atonement were intended to cover the sins of 



84 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

the high priest and of the nation as a whole (Lev. 16). 
Human imperfections in the priest and the people called 
for atonement ; and this annual ceremony was instituted 
for the benefit of those living in covenant relation with 
Jehovah. High-handed sinners had no part in the atone- 
ment. 

Was there no way • then, if individuals or the 

nation as B 

do not need to leave the Pentateuch to discover that the 
mere th could I 

■ 
32:7-14; 

anger 

lg lov- 

ing-kii . ■■«•■'.. o*d trams- 

t bl- 
and will i 
unite in exalting the 

I 

ig through penitent - The righteous 

Ruler i I gracious. 

69. LESSONS FROM I 

It may I :< call some of 

the principal rules of the Levities! L 

(1) All offerings to God must be without blemish. 
He requires a perfect offering 1 etc.). 

There was more leniency in free-will < II not 

matters of debt, but of gift to God (Lev. 22:23). 

2) The first-fruits belong to Jehovah (Lev. 23: 10). 
Do we put our religious offerings last of all? or does 
God come first? 



THE LAW OF MOSES 85 

(3) A sin unwittingly committed must be atoned for 
as soon as discovered (Lev. 4: 2, 13, etc.). 

(4) Official position brings corresponding responsibil- 
ity, the sins of rulers calling for more expensive offerings 
(Lev. 4: 3, 22, 27, 32). Is it worse for a pastor to refuse 
to pay his debts than it would be for a layman? See 
Matthew 5 : 19 for the sin of false teaching. 

(5) Restitution in the case of theft or other wrong 
must be made (Lev. 5 : 15, 16; 6: 5; 22: 14; Num. 5:6-8. 
Compare Ex. 22:1-15). A professing Christian who 
takes the bankrupt law and afterwards grows rich, with- 
out paying his debts, should be sent to school to 
Moses. 

(6) Care should be exercised in the cultivation of a 
life clean in every respect (Lev. 15 : 31 ; 18: 30). 

70. THE DEUTERONOMIC CODE 

Perhaps it is hardly proper to speak of the legal sec- 
tion of the great address of Moses as a code; for it is a 
popular discussion of the moral, civil, and religious laws 
already given through Moses. Exhortations and warn- 
ings are interspersed among the statutes and precepts. 
The great lawgiver plies his people with reasons for ob- 
serving Jehovah's commandments. He does not quote 
the laws previously given verbatim; but presents them in 
a popular manner, sometimes enlarging upon the brief 
code found in Exodus 21-23. 

The core of the great lawgiver's closing message is the 
command to love Jehovah with all the heart (Deut. 
6:4-9). Jehovah has shown His love to Israel by re- 
deeming them from bondage and giving them His laws. 
Israel is Jehovah's peculiar treasure. He expects, in re- 
turn for His electing love and faithfulness, the answering 
love and obedience of Israel. 

The moral and spiritual interpretation of the laws in 
Deuteronomy seems to some scholars too high for the 



86 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

period of Moses. The testimony of the Bible in all its 
parts is uniform in representing Moses as the greatest 
prophet of the Old Testament. Jehovah spoke with him 
face to face, and gave him unique revelation of His char- 
acter and will. The words ascribed to Moses in Deuter- 
onomy are a fitting climax to his life and work. 

The value of these addresses as an education in mercy 
can scarcely be exaggerated. See especially Deuteronomy 
15:1-18; 22:4; 23:15, 16, 19; 24: 16,' 19-22; 25:3; 
26: 12. Had the Israelites taught their .children the 
Pentateuch as they were urged to do, the history of the 
nation would have been far different. The mistakes and 
sins of the period of the uld have been well- 

nigh impossible to a people saturated with Genesis and 
Deuteronomy. 

71. INFERIORITY OF THE MOSAIC LAW TO THE GOSPEL 
OF CHRIST 

While defending the early revelation from unjust at- 
tack, we shall not make the mistake of assuming that the 
Bible is on a dead level. The fragmentary revelation 
made in old time to the fathers through the prophets, 
albeit a revelation from God, is as the light of the 
when compared to the noonday splendor of the revela- 
tion through God's own Son (Ileb. 1:1-4). We may 
represent this inferiority from four different points of 
view, in each case taking a New Testament writer as our 
guide. 

(1) In contrast with the freedom of the Christian life, 
the Law was a yoke of bondage. Peter describes the 
precepts of the ritual law as a yoke, "which neither our 
fathers nor we were able to bear" (Acts 15: 10). Paul 
emphasizes the contrast, referring to the Mosaic system as 
*a yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5.1). He shows how the 
disciples of Christ are not under the law (Gal. 5 : 3, 18). 
To the Christian "the whole law is fulfilled in one word. 



THE LAW OF MOSES 87 

even in this : Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" 
(Gal. 5:14). 

(2) The Law was a ministration of condemnation and 
death ; while the Gospel is a ministration of righteousness 
(II Cor. 3:1-11). The old covenant was one of the 
letter, on tables of stone; the new covenant is of the 
spirit. The glory of the old covenant was transitory and 
fading, like the shining of the face of Moses; the new 
covenant is permanent, and its glory shall ever increase. 
Paul delights in contrasting the glory of the Christian 
system with the inferior system for which he was once 
such a zealot (Rom. 4:13-15; 7:7-25; Gal. 2:15-21; 
3 : 10-14). Our Lord must have had some such contrast 
in mind when He said of the great forerunner, the last 
prophet of the old dispensation : "Verily I say unto you, 
Among them that are born of women there hath not 
arisen a greater than John the Baptist : yet he that is but 
little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matt. 
11:11-15). 

(3) The Law was only a tutor to lead men into the 
school of Christ (Gal. 3:24). The Roman lad was led 
to school by a slave ; at the door of the school he passed 
from the care of the slave into that of the teacher. The 
law could not make alive ; but in Christ men become sons 
of God through faith (Gal. 3:23-29). 

(4) The Law was typical of the New Covenant. The 
author of the Epistle to the Hebrews is the great expon- 
ent of this way of looking at the Old Testament. One 
would do well to read the entire Epistle at one sitting, 
with this idea in mind. The entire letter is an exposition 
of the superiority of Christ and Christianity to Moses and 
Judaism. The old, as the type, is inferior to the new (see 
especially Hebrews 7 : 18, 19 ; 8 : 3-6 ; 9 . 23 to 10 : 4) . The 
Christian, in contrast with the Jew, has a better covenant, 
a greater high priest, better promises, a greater and more 
perfect tabernacle, better sacrifices. The word "better" 
is the keyword in Hebrews. 



88 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

The Law was a preparation for the Gospel. It made 
men feel the need of a great Saviour. Hearts were pre- 
pared to receive Him joyfully when He came. 1 hough 
rejected by rulers of the chosen nation, He found many 
hearts hungry for Hi 

The symbols and types of the Mosaic system are still 
instructive to the Christian. One of the greatest reasons 
for the study of the Old Testament is that the Christian 
may thereby understand better the office and work of his 
great Prophet, Priest, and King. 



Chapter VI 

THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 

72. INTRODUCTORY 

WE pass from Moses and Joshua quickly into the 
Dark Ages of Israel's history. The splendor of 
revelation fades into twilight, threatening to pass into 
the dense darkness of a starless night. The author of 
the Book of Judges describes the transition in a graphic 
manner : "And the people served Jehovah all the days of 
Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived 
Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Jehovah, that 
He had wrought for Israel. . . . And there arose an- 
other generation after them, that knew not Jehovah, nor 
yet the work which He had wrought for Israel. And the 
children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of 
Jehovah, and served the Baalim; and they forsook Je- 
hovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them out 
of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the 
gods of the peoples that were round about them, and 
bowed themselves down unto them: and they provoked 
Jehovah to anger" (Judges 2 : 7-12). The generation that 
had experimental knowledge of Jehovah's great work 
for Israel remained comparatively loyal to Him. There 
are clear intimations, however, even before the death of 
Joshua, of the entrance of idolatry among the people ; for 
Joshua exhorts them, in his farewell address, to put away 
the foreign gods which were among them (Josh. 24: 23). 
Israel did not teach the rising generation to know all 
the glorious deeds of Jehovah on behalf of His chosen 
89 



90 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

people. The precepts of the Law were not faithfully 
taught in their homes. The appointments of God for the 
culture of the religious life were neglected. Ignorance 
and indifference spread among all classes. The sharp dis- 
tinction between Israel and the idolatrous peoples about 
them and among them rapidly disappeared. They began 
to intermarry with the heathen, and so naturally drifted 
into the worship of the cruel and indecent gods and god- 
desses of Canaan. 

73. TWO STORIES INDICATIVE OF MORAL AND RELIGIOUS 

DECLINE 

The ordinary reader needs to be told that the story of 
Micah and the Dam:- 18) and the story of 

the outnu- lb (Judges 19 to 21) belong to the 

period shortly after the death of Joshua. The Levite who 
ofiici . raven image was the 

grandson of fcioMI (Judges 18:30); and Phinchas, the 
grandson of Aaron, was high priest at the time of the 
war against the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20: 28). The 
careless reader might infer, from the position of these 
stories at the end of the Book of Judges, that the events 
belong to the period after Samson ; whereas they really 
describe the state of affairs in Israel shortly after the 
death of Joshua. 

It is rather startling to discover that the grandson of 
Moses was willing to officiate as priest before a graven 
image. To be sure, he seems to have worshiped Jehovah 
through the image (Judges 18: 6) ; but such worship was 
not acceptable to the God who said. "Thou shalt not 
make unto thee any graven image" (Ex. 20:4). It is 
evident that the ritual laws of the Pentateuch were not 
faithfully observed among the people. 

The story of the frightful outrage at Gibeah reveals 
the presence of moral corruption in the tribe of Benja- 
min. The sin of the wicked men of Gibeah is condoned 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 91 

by the whole tribe of Benjamin, who rally to the defense 
of their wicked brethren. Some of the worst fruits of 
heathenism have entered the moral life of Israel. The 
zeal of the main body of Israel in trying to weed out the 
offenders is proof that the nation as a whole had not yet 
sunk into Canaanite debauchery. 

74. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF 

The author represents the experiences of Israel during 
the long period of the Judges as a cycle that kept repeat- 
ing itself. There were four stages in the cycle: (1) 
Israel forsook Jehovah for other gods; (2) Jehovah in 
anger sent an enemy against Israel to enslave them. (3) 
In their distress Israel cried to Jehovah for deliverance. 
(4) Jehovah in mercy raised up a leader to break the 
yoke of the oppressor. The victorious leader then be- 
came judge for the remainder of his life. Each genera- 
tion refused to learn from the former generations the 
lesson that apostasy from Jehovah meant slavery to 
heathen oppressors. 

75. MILITARY HEROES AND THEIR WEAKNESSES 

In this period of political confusion the Spirit of God 
frequently clothed men with courage and power as sol- 
diers. Some of the Judges were quite ignorant of the 
laws given through Moses ; and several of them had a low 
moral standard. Jehovah condescended to use imperfect 
men for the preservation of Israel's national life. Pa- 
triotism was an ally of the true religion in Israel. It was 
a service to the religion of Jehovah to drive out the 
heathen invaders. Hence men like Jephthah and Samson 
are enrolled among the heroes of faith. The inspired 
writers do not for a moment endorse or defend their 
serious moral faults. We should not try to whitewash 
Ehud or Jephthah or Samson, any more than we would 



92 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

dream of excusing David for immorality or Peter for 
denying his Lord. But those modern critics who think 
that the Bible would be a better book if Judges were alto- 
gether omitted from it, make a -real mistake. No sane 
student ha- incited to imitate the sins and fol- 

lies of Samson by reading the story of his life. It i 
of the remarkable characn - can 

speak plainly of matters commonly excluded from | 
conversation, and yet not stimulate the evil in i 
natui i 

1. ( fthniel drove i ul tl i!nia - 

. In his youth 

e hand o\ 

I Kiriath- 

upon him i 

1 the 

. ; I 

2. K«lon of 

hrough the 

of lfa( 

The ; ] without l 

or censure (Judges 3: 12 

ale judge, 
inspiration, skill, and courage. In c:. 
time- ien to do work ordinarily commit* 

men. Debora'; 

scribed in the Book of Judges. Whet; under 

the palm-tree in the hill country of Ephraim. or going 
with Barak at the I army, or hinging the 

praises of Tehovah for the victory over Sisera, she is a 
picturesque* and noble figure. She was the wife of Lappi- 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 93 

doth, and calls herself "a mother in Israel" (Judges 
4,5). 

4. The story of Gideon is a favorite with both young 
and old. God found Gideon discouraged and timid; but 
led him first to a stronger personal faith in Himself and 
then by degrees brought him to the point of attacking 
the host of Midian. Gideon hardly dared at first to 
assail idolatry among his own people; but when he had 
once made a beginning, by breaking down the altar of 
Baal and cutting down the image of Astarte beside it, 
the Spirit of God gave him courage to gather an army 
against the invaders. Jehovah stripped him of all his 
army but three hundred brave men anxious to drive out 
the plundering Midianites. By a skillful night attack he 
routed the Midianite host, and then pursued the foe until 
victory was complete. The story abounds in dramatic 
scenes. Gideon seems to have been uninstructed in the 
Mosaic Law, like most of the military leaders of the 
troubled period of the Judges. He made a costly golden 
ephod, which became an object of worship to his family 
and to all Israel. He also took many wives. Though re- 
fusing to accept the office of king over Israel, he yet 
lived in royal state (Judges 6-8). 

5. Jephthah delivered the Israelites east of the Jordan 
from the inroads of the Ammonites. If one stops to con- 
sider the story of Jephthah's early life, he can well un- 
derstand how such a rude chieftain would mingle with 
his devotion to Jehovah much of heathen ignorance and 
superstition. When diplomacy failed with the king of 
Ammon, Jephthah went out to battle, after having made 
a rash vow (perhaps in secret) that he would offer up as 
a burnt-offering the person who should meet him out of 
the door of his house, if he should return victorious. It 
was wrong to make such a vow, and it was wrong to 
execute it when made ; but Jephthah felt in honor bound 
to keep it, even though it meant the sacrifice of his only 
daughter on the smoking altar. We can no more defend 



9* THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

this sacrifice than we can defend Samson's immoral acts. 
The Spirit of Jehovah clothed Jephthah with power in 
battle, and used him as a deliverer of Israel, so that he 
has a place among the heroes of faith (Judges 10-12). 

6. Samson was a mixture of strength and weakness. 
How often 11111-: father and mother have won- 

dered al nil trange I ' peculiar deeds! He gam- 

iild gives the reins to his 
anim. ; : He is not strong enough in his moral 

life to resist the charms of the Philistine women. One 
cheats him out of thi :' his riddle, and am 

betrays him into the hands of his enemies. 1 i* 

ling 

Wl ' him, he rends the 

'liilis- 
linst him, roj>es and thoi 

ihou- 
nen with ; the blind 

hero pulls a Ik 
he n 
behold Samson the mighty man (Ju<lges 13-1' 

Tin: stc: 

It ; .: to turn ; ires of bl 

iron in this dark pe: 

I days 

Ahich 

was right in his i •' and 

in any aj." 
of their faith and noble condi: urac- 

tive in its Bettii that there 

were of charming home life ev- n in the 

darki 

The heroine of the book is Ruth. Naomi and Boaz 

noble in thought and deed, but Rut;. them 

in faith and devotion. She was probably converted to 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 95 

faith in Israel's God by the beauty of the lives of the 
family into which she married. We know that Naomi 
was a woman of faith. Religion meant more in this 
Hebrew home than it did in Moabite households. Hence 
Ruth became a worshiper of the God of Israel. 

The love of Ruth for her mother-in-law is beautiful 
and touching. The women of Bethlehem were right in 
their estimate, when they said to Naomi that her loving 
daughter-in-law was better to her than seven sons (Ruth 
4: 15). Industrious, modest, faithful, confiding, and af- 
fectionate, Ruth was a model daughter, and became a 
model wife. She was known throughout the community 
as a worthy woman. She not only had faith in God, but 
also had faith in good men. In obedience to Naomi's 
suggestion, she put herself in a position that would have 
been dangerous, if virtue in man were only a myth. She 
passed through every trial unscathed. The story of her 
life still ministers to the purity and beauty of sweet home 
life. 

78. A GOOD MAN AND HIS WICKED SONS 

The story of the Judges is not completed in the book 
of that name ; for the early part of First Samuel tells the 
story of Eli and of Samuel, both of whom judged Israel. 

The high priest Eli judged Israel forty years. There 
is no account of the campaign in which Eli earned the 
title of judge; but it was probably a campaign against 
the Philistines. Perhaps Samson and Eli were contempo- 
rary. The union of the two great offices of high priest 
and judge in one man gave to Eli a wonderful oppor- 
tunity to elevate the moral and religious life of Israel. 
He seems to have been blameless and gracious, but by no 
means a strong and aggressive character. Sins of omis- 
sion marred his career. He neglected the moral discipline 
of his two sons, who grew up slaves to appetite. They 
were adulterers and gluttons. The Tabernacle was pol- 



<j6 Tin: in a: 

luted bv their vile deeds. Pious men in Israel went to 

'.ictantly, t < 

ild be 
• a warning In Eli 

through .-in inn ' ! ,n:in di(1 

■ 

. of the ; 

i 

HOY 

I burning al morc 

in the home, Hani 

ily reminding her of her childla 
.cir annu;. 

to tl.< 

to God in vkM 

ok her for a drunken woman; 
on learninj n g oi &°d 

upon the pious suppliant. Hannah. I a son, and 

sed to give him back to Jehovah all the days of his 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 97 

life. As a sign of his complete dedication to God, no 
razor should come upon his head. 

In due time Jehovah gave Hannah a son. She gave 
her whole thought and time, for the next two or three 
years, to the care of her child. Hannah was a great 
mother. She knew that the first years are the most im- 
portant in education; and so she nursed and trained her 
child. When she had weaned him, she went once more 
to the house of God to present him to the aged high 
priest as Jehovah's representative, that he might min- 
ister unto Jehovah all his days. Samuel was a Levite 
by birth (1 Chron. 6:33), and so was qualified to be a 
helper at the sanctuary. 

Eli soon discovered that the small boy had been well 
trained. He was alert and reliable and respectful. As 
Eli's eyes grew dim, the bright and industrious boy led 
him about and ran errands for him. Eli pronounced a 
blessing on Samuel's parents, and prayed that Jehovah 
would give them other children. Samuel ministered to 
Jehovah in the presence of Eli through the early years 
of childhood. The annual visit of his parents was the 
gladdest week of all the year to the growing boy. His 
mother always brought him a little robe which she had 
made with her own hands. Many confidential talks they 
had together during these yearly visits. Hannah now 
urged her boy to imitate pious old Eli and to avoid as 
far as possible all contact with his wicked sons. What 
would become of growing boys, if it were not for 
thoughtful, loving mothers? 

Samuel's courtesy and self-control shine out in the 
story of his call to be a prophet. He was perhaps a lad 
twelve or thirteen years old when Jehovah called to him 
as he lay on his bed at night. Samuel thought it was 
Eli who was calling, and ran to the couch of the high 
priest to respond to the call. This he did three times, 
without the slightest hint of impatience or annoyance. 
Samuel loved Eli and took great pleasure in waiting on 



98 THE HEABT OF THE 

him. At lengti that it was Jehovah who 

rallii ■ > itig, 

.:nily 

did n 

I told 

h the 
80. 

He 

■ 
wide 
as a | 

1 dis- 
putes among the pe 

* 

surprise, and g •''! set 

up a monument in commemoration of Jehovah's help, 
the people now threw off the Philistine yoke. 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 99 

81. A NOBLE JUDGE 

Samuel was now recognized as the Judge of Israel. 
He was loved and honored by all the people. He estab- 
lished a circuit in the central district about his home at 
Ramah, and held court at stated seasons in several dif- 
ferent towns. Samuel was honest and just in all his 
decisions. Toward the close of his life he challenged 
the world to point to any case in which he had taken a 
bribe or perverted justice (1 Sam. 7:15-17; 12:1-5). 
He made a noble record as a judge. 

82. THE DEMAND FOR A KING 

Samuel was ambitious to perpetuate his name and in- 
fluence through his sons. He therefore appointed them 
as judges at Beersheba, in the extreme south. Soon 
complaints began to be made that Samuel's two sons 
were taking bribes and perverting justice. They were 
wholly unlike their father in character and in conduct. 
The story of Eli's terrible mistake, which ought to have 
been deeply impressed upon Samuel above all others, 
seems to have been forgotten amid the cares of a busy 
life. While Samuel was teaching all Israel how to live 
right, he neglected the training of his own sons. Evil 
associations corrupted their morals. Too late the 
great prophet woke up to the sad fact that his sons had 
low ideals and were given to dishonest practices. A man 
has no other business so important as the moral training 
of his own sons. 

War clouds began to lower on Israel's border. The 
Ammonites on the east and the Philistines in the south- 
west began to break in upon Israel; so that the people 
felt keenly the need of a strong leader and a well organized 
government to cope with the situation ; hence the decision 
to ask for a king. Samuel was deeply grieved that he 
and his sons should be set aside by the people ; but Jeho- 



100 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

vah gave him to understand that he had less cause for 
anger than Himself ; for the clamor for a Icing was, in 
effect, a rejection of Jehovah as king in Israel. Samuel 
was told to protest solemnly against the movement, and 
warn the people of the evil that would come in with the 
change from the theocracy to government by an earthly 
king. When the people insisted on having a king, Jeho- 
vah let them have their way (1 Sam. 8). 

83. SAMUEL AND SAUL 

The first man chosen as king was a man of command- 
ing physical presence, towering above the heads of his 
fellows. Saul had not been known as a religious leader ; 
and when he was seized with the prophetic enthusiasm that 
swayed other young men of his time, his experience came 
as a surprise to all who had known his former life. 
Saul's modesty and self-control at the time of his first 
public recognition as king won the respect of the people, 
and encouraged men to hope that he would be a wise and 
good ruler (1 Sam. 9, 10). His courage and skill in 
scattering the Ammonite invaders won the admiration 
of all Israel. Saul now had the enthusiastic support of 
the nation. Samuel proposed that the people celebrate 
the victory by a second recognition of Saul as king (1 
Sam. 11). 

Samuel's address at the renewal of the kingdom was 
a distinct disappointment to Saul. Instead of praising 
the people for desiring a king, Samuel reminded them 
that it was a lack of faith in Jehovah that made them de- 
mand a king to fight their battles. He warned the peo- 
ple that disobedience to the God of Israel would mean 
that both they and their king would be consumed ( 1 Sam. 
12). Samuel was very fond of Saul, and wished him 
well in his rule over Israel; but he gave Saul to under- 
stand that he was under the authority of Jehovah, and 
must rule as a faithful servant of Israel's God. Saul 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 101 

seems to have begun to look upon Samuel with suspi- 
cion and jealousy. He resolved in his own mind to be 
king and rule as he thought best. His lower nature be- 
gan from this day on to assert itself more and more. 

While Saul had scattered the Ammonites by one sud- 
den blow, he found the Philistines far more stubborn 
and skillful in war. They invaded Israel in overwhelm- 
ing numbers and took possession of most of the country 
west of the Jordan. The Israelites, unable to keep the 
field against the superior forces of the enemy, "hid them- 
selves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in 
coverts, and in pits." Some of them fled to the country 
east of the Jordan. Saul did his best to keep the field; 
but his army "followed him trembling." 

Samuel had promised to come to Gilgal within seven 
days to offer sacrifices to Jehovah on behalf of His op- 
pressed people. He was late in coming, and the He- 
brews began to desert from Saul's army. It seemed to 
the jealous king that he would be excusable in usurping 
the functions of the aged leader, who had tarried beyond 
the appointed time. So he offered the burnt-offering 
himself. Just as he had finished the sacrifice Samuel 
came. He rebuked Saul for his folly in disobeying the 
commandment of Jehovah, and announced that such con- 
duct would lead to the rejection of Saul as king. He 
left the foolish king to his own resources and went back 
to Gibeah. Saul had thrown off the yoke of Samuel, 
apparently overlooking the fact that the prophet, as Jeho- 
vah's appointed representative, had a right to direct the 
conduct of Israel's king. It was not a mere personal 
quarrel between Saul and Samuel; for the prophet was 
Jehovah's mouthpiece. In rebelling against Samuel's 
directions, Saul was really throwing off the authority of 
Israel's God (1 Sam. 13: 1-15). 

Through the bravery of Jonathan, the Philistines were 
routed and chased out of the land of Israel. Saul's 
fickleness and cruelty are manifest in the story of his 



102 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

rash vow and his effort to put Jonathan to death (1 Sam. 
13:16 to 14:46). Saul's courage and capacity as a 
general receive generous recognition at the hands of the 
inspired historian (1 Sam. 14:47-52). 

Saul receives through Samuel a command to destroy 
the Amalekites, who had made a cowardly attack on the 
Israelites as they were on their way out of Egypt to 
Sinai. These freebooters and robbers of the desert had 
no doubt continued their enmity toward their neighbors. 
The time had come for a reckoning. Saul disobeyed the 
commandment of Jehovah in sparing Agag and the best 
of the sheep and the cattle. His pride was gratified by 
the presence of the captive king ; and the sheep and oxen 
would enable Israel to offer a great sacrifice to Jehovah 
without cost to themselves. When Samuel came down 
to meet Saul, he brushed aside the excuses of the self- 
willed king, and announced the final rejection of Saul: 
"Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and 
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, 
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the 
fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, 
and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because 
thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath also 
rejected thee from being king" (1 Sam. 15:1-23). 

Saul now realizes that he has made a great blunder. 
He makes confession of his sin, and begs Samuel to 
pardon him, and recognize him as king by publicly wor- 
shiping Jehovah in his presence. If Samuel leaves him 
without some such recognition, he fears that he may 
actually lose his throne ; for the aged prophet has great 
influence with the people. At first Samuel refuses, even 
to the point of tearing away from the grasp of the per- 
sistent king. Samuel speaks brave words to the foolish 
king; but finally, in a moment of weakness, he consents 
to offer sacrifice with Saul standing beside him as king. 
Saul has outwitted the good man. He can now say that 
Samuel's conduct does not square with his words. Saul 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 103 

is resolved to keep his throne at any cost. He persuades 
Samuel to perform an act which nullifies his words. 
Samuel's inconsistency gave Saul the advantage, and 
encouraged him to pay no attention to the decree of re- 
jection. Samuel became afraid of Saul; and any servant 
of God who compromises on a matter of principle will 
lose his courage in combating evil. He may assert his 
courage, as did Samuel when he seized a sword and 
hewed Agag in pieces in the presence of Saul; but the 
man who tempts him to compromise will ever after dis- 
dain him (1 Sam. 15:24-35)'. 

84. samuel's closing labors 

Samuel's closing labors included the anointing of a 
king to take the place of Saul. The aged prophet had 
a weakness for men of fine physical presence. He 
imagined that the tall Eliab must surely be Jehovah's 
choice for the throne ; but the Spirit checked the impulse 
to anoint him ; "for man looketh on the outward appear- 
ance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart." When the 
ruddy and beautiful David was brought in from the 
fields, Jehovah commanded Samuel to anoint him in the 
midst of his brethren: "and the Spirit of Jehovah came 
mightily upon David from that day forward" (1 Sam. 
16). 

Samuel withdrew as much as possible from public gaze 
in his closing years, devoting his time and energy to the 
teaching of young men in the schools of the prophets. 
In these guilds or schools young men studied sacred 
music and the history of God's rule in Israel. Revival 
fires were kindled in these prophetic centers, sometimes 
attended by great emotional excitement. David came 
for a short time under the influence of Samuel and the 
prophets (1 Sam. 19:18-24). Samuel died at an ad- 
vanced age, during the period when Saul was pursuing 
David in the wilderness of Judah; "and all Israel gath- 



104 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

ered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried 
him in his house at Ramah" (1 Sam. 25: 1). 



85. GENERAL ESTIMATE OF SAMT 

1. Samuel was a prophet, the first of a long line of 
prophets, and second onl; in molding the life 

raeL 

2. He i ■' and noble ptd 

3. He erful in intercessory prayer (Jer. 
15:1). 

4. He was a teaeher of young men. Many of the 
kaden of the next generation caught from him their 
inspiration | He found Israel a medley 
of di ss e v ered tribe-; he left them a united nati « He 
led [srael out of the Dark Ages ; n t,, the era of their 

itetJ national glory and prosperity. 



Chapter VII 

DAVID AND THE PSALMS 

86. DAVID AND SAMUEL 

DAVID was easily the foremost of all the young 
men whom Samuel led to dedicate themselves to 
the service of Jehovah and His people. The paths of 
these two heroes of faith perhaps crossed only two or 
three times; but these interviews were epoch-making 
events in David's life. 

When Samuel was sent by Jehovah to Bethlehem to 
anoint one of Jesse's sons to be king instead of the will- 
ful Saul, the Spirit held him back from the natural im- 
pulse to anoint the tallest of the eight brothers. When 
the youthful shepherd boy, with the beautiful eyes and 
the well-knit frame, was ushered into the presence of 
Samuel, Jehovah said, "Arise, anoint him ; for this is he ;" 
"and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon David 
from that day forward" (1 Sam. 16:1-13). Brave al- 
ready from his earliest youth, David became even more 
courageous in defending his flock; gifted already as a 
musician, he brought yet sweeter notes from his harp ; 
fond of the beauties of earth and sky, he saw new 
glories in the heavens, as he watched his flock by day 
and by night. The dreams and aspirations of his soul 
took more definite and substantial form after the anoint- 
ing oil out of Samuel's horn descended upon his head. 

When David was driven from the court of Saul, he 

took refuge for a while with Samuel at Naioth, near 

Ramah (1 Sam. 19:18-24). The aged prophet must 

have given much wise counsel to the young general, upon 

105 



106 THE HEART OF THE OLD 

whom rested the future of Jehovah's people. David 
found great inspiration in association with the noble 
prophet, who had done so much for the unification and 
spiritual uplift of Israel. 

87. DAVID AND SAUL 

Soon the brilliant harp immoned to court to 

soothe the frcn 'iving 

■ 
Browning' 

erd boy's sublii 
had m 
such a si: 

•\e melancholy king. 1 !<• 
Saul with a love that no injustice and 
cruelty could < rich. 

ition of mutual love 
and 1 

his humble calli: 

I*hili • 

•!;c returning victors, sing- 
ing 

And I 

Saul began to suspect that David was the man wh 
to supplant him on the throne oi He "eyed 

David from that dav and forward" (1 Sam. 16:14 to 
18:9). 

For several years Saul sought to destroy David. He 
tried to smite him to the wall with a javelin. He in- 
sulted David in y possible. Then he tried to 
persuade others to slay him. At length he tried to cap- 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 107 

ture David in his house, and pursued him to Ramah, 
where Samuel had given protection to the fugitive. Wal- 
lowing on the ground in intense physical excitement, 
Saul was unable to find and kill David (1 Sam. 18: 10 to 
19:24). David escaped from Ramah, and returned to 
seek Jonathan. The generous prince, having tried in 
vain to remove his father's jealousy, renewed his cov- 
enant with David and sent him away (1 Sam. 20). 

88. DAVID AN OUTLAW 

Saul's enmity made David an outlaw, though he was 
ever loyal to Saul, patiently waiting for Jehovah to open 
the way to the throne in His own time and way. David 
fled by way of Nob to Achish, king of Gath. His de- 
ception of the high priest on the way thither led later to 
the destruction of all the priest's family, except one son, 
who fled to David for refuge (1 Sam. 21:1-9; 22: 
6-23). 

Wise men sometimes play the fool. David walked 
into Gath, a fugitive from Saul's court, wearing the big 
sword of Goliath, who was once the pride of that very 
city. He was quickly identified as the man who had 
killed Goliath, and who was now aspiring to the throne 
of Israel. Detectives dogged his steps and reported 
their observations to Achish. David's mother wit saved 
him from the trap, though at great loss of dignity and 
peace of mind. He escaped to the cave of Adullam, 
where he received his family, and collected a band of 
four hundred desperate men. By courage and firmness 
and tact, he soon became the idolized leader of this band. 

David celebrated his deliverance from the Philistines 
in Gath by composing Psalm 56. The poem has many 
points of contact with his experiences at that time. The 
face of Saul looks out of verse 1 ; the detectives in Gath 
appear in verse 6 ; David's wanderings and tears in verse 
8. The hairbreadth escape of the psalmist is celebrated 



108 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

in the closing verse. See, for another monument of 
David's deliverance from Gath, the beautiful alphabet- 
ical poem known as Psalm 34. Jehovah's good angel 
delivered him (Psa. 34:7). 

After a brief trip to the land of Moab for the pur- 
pose of providing a refuge for his father and mother, 
David returned to the south of Judah. The prophet 
Gad had meanwhile joined his band; and presently the 
only surviving son of the high priest came to him at 
Keilah with an ephod in his hand (1 Sam. 22:3-5; 23: 
1-6). Psalm 52 seems to have been composed by David 
when he received the news of Doeg's lying and cruelty 
in compassing the death of the high priest and his fam- 
ily. It is a fearful indictment of the liar. 

As soon as Saul heard of David's expedition to Keilah, 
he planned to take the field against him with a picked 
force and capture him. For months he pursued David, 
sometimes almost overtaking him. Twice he fell into 
David's hands and was spared (1 Sam. 24, 26). The 
nobility of David shines forth in his generous treatment 
of the man who was continually hunting for his life. 
Psalms 54, 57, and 142 belong to this period. 

89. DAVID GOES OVER TO THE PHILISTINES 

David made the mistake of commencing the formation 
of a harem during the period of his flight from Saul. 
Naturally, he could no longer flee with his former speed 
and secrecy from one cave to another. He lost heart 
and resolved to go over to the Philistines. He was 
kindly received by Achish, who gave him Ziklag for a 
home. He made forays against his heathen neighbors 
south of Philistia (1 Sam. 25,27). When the Philis- 
tines planned an invasion of Israel, Achish took David 
and his men along as part of his force. David's mind 
must have been disturbed, as he faced the alternative of 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 109 

fighting against his own people or else of turning traitor 
to his great benefactor, Achish. The suspicions of the 
other Philistine lords happily relieved him of his di- 
lemma. But when he and his men returned to Ziklag 
to see their families, lo, the city had been burned and 
their families carried captive. David's men naturally 
blamed their leader for this calamity, and openly spoke 
of stoning him. It was a crisis in David's career. His 
religion was his only solace, and he "strengthened him- 
self in Jehovah his God" (1 Sam. 29 : 1 to 30 : 6) . Jeho- 
vah encouraged him to pursue the troop that had carried 
captive the women and children. After a long and 
fatiguing pursuit, he recovered everything (1 Sam. 30). 
When the news came that Saul and Jonathan had fallen 
in the disastrous battle of Gilboa, David composed a 
beautiful elegy, which he taught his people to sing. He 
generously couples the name of Saul, who had sought 
his life, with that of Jonathan, his noble friend (1 Sam. 
31 to 2 Sam. 1). Even radical critics accept the genu- 
ineness of this elegy, though, in doing so, they cut the 
ground from beneath their own feet; for if David was 
noble enough and gifted enough to be the author of this 
poem, there is no longer any good reason why he may 
not have composed the many psalms ascribed to him in 
the Psalter. 

90. DAVID KING OF JUDAH 

Why did not all Israel turn to David as their king 
after the death of Saul and Jonathan? Why did Abner 
make the weakling, Ish-bosheth, king over the land? 
Why did the tribe of Judah alone recognize David's 
right to the throne? The explanation lies near the sur- 
face, though it seems to have escaped many students of 
David's life. All Israel at one time rejoiced in David's 
leadership in the army. He was the most popular man 



110 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

in Israel. The fact of his anointing was perhaps un- 
known to the people at large at that time. It must have 
become known a little later, for Saul and others speak 
of David as the one who is to be king over Israel. 
Jonathan generously promises to support David as his 
prime minister (1 Sam. 24:20-22; 23:15-18). It be- 
came widely known that Jehovah had anointed David as 
the rightful king over Israel. Why, then, did the nation 
at large refuse to make David king after the death of 
Saul? For the good and sufficient reason that he had 
joined hands with the Philistines and marched out with 
them to battle. The story of his presence in the army 
of invasion had spread abroad among the men of Israel, 
and they could not understand it. Why should they 
make a man king to-day who but yesterday marched in 
the army of their oppressors? Who could blame them 
for feeling thus? The fault for this tangle was David's. 
When he took to himself two wives in the wilderness, 
while Saul was pursuing him, he made the first false 
step. That led naturally to a growing fear that Saul 
would some day capture him or his family; for women 
and children cannot flee so rapidly as men of war. 
Hence David decided to go into a foreign country, where 
he would be safe from attack by Saul. Being kindly 
received by Achish, he settled in his country, and was 
counted as a valuable ally. He could not well refuse to 
go forth with Achish to battle. 

David ought to have learned from this bitter experi- 
ence to avoid the first false step. Had he taken the 
lesson to heart, his name might never have been tarnished 
with the terrible sins of adultery and murder. 

The tribe of Judah at once accepted David as king, and 
he reigned at Hebron for seven years and a half. His 
men were victorious in the war with the house of Saul. 
David behaved himself wisely, and gradually won back 
the northern tribes. Soon all Israel resolved to accept 
him as king (2 Sam. 2 : 1 to 5 : 5). 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 111 

91. DAVID THE PROSPEROUS KING OF ISRAEL 

David wisely decided to transfer the capital to a place 
nearer the center of his kingdom. He captured the 
fortress of Jebus, which was thought by the Jebusites 
to be impregnable, and made it the capital of Israel. The 
king of Tyre became a valuable ally to David, sending 
men and materials to build him a palace. David repulsed 
two invasions by the Philistines, who were jealous of 
his growing power (2 Sam. 5). 

David resolved to transfer the ark to Jerusalem, and 
thus make the city the religious center as well as the 
political capital of Israel. His first attempt failed, be- 
cause the precious symbol of Jehovah's presence was 
handled irreverently. A little later he brought the ark 
into the city of David with joyous shouting and blowing 
of trumpets. He offered sacrifices before the ark, and 
distributed presents of food to the assembled multitude. 
The king led the rejoicing procession, as the ark was 
brought into the city, leaping and dancing for joy (2 
Sam. 6). Psalm 24 was probably sung as the ark came 
to the gates of the ancient city. The first six verses 
were probably sung as the procession drew near to the 
city. At the gates a single voice or a chorus sang: 

"Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; 
And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors : 
And the King of glory will come in." 

A voice from within responds to the challenge : 

"Who is the King of glory?" 

The chorus without shouts back: 

"Jehovah strong and mighty, 
Jehovah mighty in battle." 



112 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

This is all repeated before the gates swing open to 
admit the symbol of the King's presence. 

David had many wars with the peoples surrounding 
the land of Israel, in all of which he was victorious. He 
first conquered the Philistines, who had been Israel's 
most stubborn foes for at least a century. He then sub- 
dued the peoples east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan. 
His fiercest struggle was with the Arameans or Syrians, 
northeast of Israel ; but he finally tamed them effectually. 
Edom was also subdued after a bloody war (2 Sam. 8). 
Psalm 18, one of the greatest of the Psalms, celebrates 
the help of Jehovah against all foes. 

As soon as David was firmly established on his throne, 
he expressed to the prophet Nathan a desire to build for 
Jehovah a temple. His pious desire pleased Jehovah so 
much that He sent Nathan with the great promise that 
David's throne should be established forever (2 Sam. 7). 
During all of David's later life he was collecting mate- 
rials for the great temple to be erected by his son. 

The promise that David's throne should stand forever 
was really Messianic, receiving its fulfillment in the reign 
of One who was David's son and at the same time his 
Lord. Psalm 110 describes the victory of this Priest- 
King, who marches against His foes at the head of an 
army of volunteers. Jehovah at His right hand beats 
down all who oppose His reign. Psalm 2 is a compan- 
ion song, announcing the stability of Messiah's throne, 
though earth's puny kings attempt to throw off His rule. 

David could never forget Jonathan, the best friend he 
ever had. For Jonathan's sake, he invited the poor crip- 
ple, Mephibosheth, to sit at the king's table as an hon- 
ored guest continually (2 Sam. 9). 

A fool came to the throne of the children of Ammon. 
He insulted David's messengers, who were sent on a 
peaceful errand, and thus brought on a war with Israel. 
David had now been on the throne for years. He was 
perhaps fifty years of age. Jehovah had blessed him 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS US 

on every hand, so that he seemingly had all that heart 
could wish. But luxury and idleness had undermined the 
moral and religious nature of the great ruler. He was 
beginning to degenerate into an Oriental despot (2 Sam. 
10:1 to 11:1). 

92. david's great sin and its consequences 

David's love of ease led him to stay at home to enjoy 
the pleasures of his palace while his brave soldiers, 
under Joab, went forth to fight their country's battles. 
Suddenly a great temptation presented itself, and David, 
in an evil moment, yielded. He perhaps thought the 
matter would never become public, and kings are not 
held accountable like other men. But his sin threatened 
to have consequences of which he had not dreamed. He 
at once set on foot a plan to cover up his sin; but the 
brave soldier whom he had wronged refused to enjoy 
the pleasures of home life while his comrades were in 
tents fighting for their country. In desperation, David 
resolved to put Uriah out of the way. He made the 
brave soldier the bearer of his own death-warrant. 
Under the walls of Rabbah, Uriah fell by the sword of 
the Ammonites ; but Jehovah charged to David the blood 
of the man whom he had sent to his death. The God 
of Israel was displeased with David (2 Sam. 11). 

How long David lived in terrible unrest, with a guilty 
conscience lashing him, we do not know. At length 
Nathan the prophet came to him with a story of cruelty 
that roused the king to vengeance. When the prophet 
turned upon him with the bold words, "Thou art the 
man," the king's head fell upon his breast with the con- 
fession, "I have sinned against Jehovah." God gra- 
ciously forgave David's sin, so that he was not de- 
throned nor slain; but the natural consequences of his 
evil conduct were allowed to work themselves out in his 
afterlife (2 Sam. 12). 



114 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

The ancient title of Psalm 51 represents it as David's 
cry for forgiveness for his horrible sins. It is the great- 
est of the seven Penitential Psalms. Read it in the light 
of its origin and note the depth of penitence. Many 
sinners, from the days of David to the present, have 
found these words the most satisfactory expression of 
their own desire for cleansing and a new heart. 

Psalm 32 reflects David's experience at a slightly later 
period, when he had made a clean breast of all his sins, 
and the sense of forgiveness had come to gladden his 
soul. The contrast between the feverish unrest of the 
period in which he maintained a stubborn silence and 
the peace that came after full and frank confession re- 
ceives striking expression in verses 3 to 5. David wishe* 
others to learn the lesson of his experience (Psa. 32:6). 
He promises to teach transgressors the way back to God 
(Psa. 51:13). 

David's sins repeated themselves in his own family. 
Inasmuch as he had given great occasion to the enemies 
of Jehovah to blaspheme, his later history must serve as 
a warning to all who might be tempted to imitate his 
evil deeds (2 Sam. 12: 14). David must have felt that 
he was reaping what he had sown, when his eldest son 
gave the reins to unnatural lust, and when, a little later, 
another son put to death his guilty brother (2 Sam. 13). 
Absalom's rebellion was a further harvest from David's 
sowing (2 Sam. 14 to 20). David must have felt that 
he deserved the heavy chastisements that fell upon him 
in rapid succession. 

Psalms 3, 4, 61, 62, and 63 were probably composed 
during the period of Absalom's rebellion. Psalms 41 
and 55 probably refer to the treachery of Ahithophel and 
other secret foes at this crisis. Psalm 3 is a morning 
prayer (Psa. 3:5), and Psalm 4 is an evening prayer 
(Psa. 4:8), in both of which the psalmist's trust in God 
is beautifully expressed. The same note of confidence 
in God is struck repeatedly in Psalms 61 to 63. 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 115 

After Absalom's rebellion David seems to have grown 
old rapidly. His heart was almost broken by his sad 
experience with an ungrateful son. He lost interest in 
life. For a brief moment he was roused out of his 
stupor by the news of Adonijah's effort to seize the 
throne, and gave his personal attention to the crowning 
of Solomon. He gave Solomon an earnest charge, and 
completed his preparations for the building of the temple 
(1 Kings 1 : 1 to 2: 12; 1 Chr. 22 to 29). 

93. GENERAL ESTIMATE OF DAVID 

1. A born musician. Amos 6:5. 

2. A great lyric poet, the founder of Hebrew psalm- 
ody. 

3. A superb general. 

4. A successful organizer and administrator. Psalm 
78:70-72. 

5. A man of remarkable religious experience. Though 
he fell into horrible sins, he recovered himself by repent- 
ance. To understand him fully we must study the history 
in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles in connection with 
the psalms composed by David. 

6. David is a type of Christ, both as a persecuted 
man and as the king of Israel. 

94. DAVID THE FOUNDER OF HEBREW PSALMODY 

Many modern critics deny that David wrote any 
psalms. They brush aside as worthless the superscrip- 
tions or titles of the psalms, found in the Hebrew text 
and thence brought over into modern versions of the 
Psalter. But these titles, while not a part of the poetry, 
are very ancient; and they are in harmony with the 
uniform tradition that David composed many psalms. 
The question is one of such importance for the under- 
standing of the history of revelation in Old Testament 



116 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

times that we invite attention to some considerations 
which favor the view that David was the chief psalmist 
of Israel. 

I. THE AGE OF DAVID FURNISHED PROMISING SOIL FOR 
THE GROWTH OF POETRY 

1. The political and religious reforms of Samuel gave 
a new sense of national unity and kindled the fires of 
religious patriotism. 

2. Music received an impetus from Samuel and the 
sons of the prophets, and was used in religious exercises. 

3. The victories of war under David, and the conse- 
quent internal development of the national government 
and life of Israel, would naturally stimulate the poetic 
instinct of men of genius. Compare the Elizabethan age 
and the Victorian era in English literature. 

4. The removal of the ark to the new capital and the 
organization of the Levitical choirs would stimulate poets 
to compose hymns of praise to Jehovah. 

ii. david's qualifications for composing psalms 

1. lie was a gifted musician. lie had a sense of 
rhythm and an ear for pleasing sounds. 

2. He is recognized by critics of all schools as a poet 
of no mean ability. The genuineness of his elegy over 
Saul and Jonathan is commonly accepted (2 Sam. 1 : 
19-27); also his lament over Abner (2 Sam. 3:33f). 
In the elegy over Saul and Jonathan, David displays great 
generosity of soul, as well as poetic skill of the highest 
order. The poem confirms the representations of the 
author of Samuel as to David's kind treatment of Saul. 

3. David was a man of deep feeling and imperial 
imagination. His successful generalship would argue for 
imagination, as well as his vivid imagery in the elegy. 
He was magnetic in the highest degree. 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 117 

4. David was an enthusiastic zvorshiper of Jehovah. 
All the records of his life agree in representing him as 
devoted to Israel's Goa. We should have been surprised 
had no trace of religious poetry come from his pen. The 
known facts of his life and times prepare us for an 
outburst of psalmody under his leadership. 

III. THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE POSSIBILITY OF AS- 
CRIBING TO DAVID ANY OF THE HYMNS IN THE 
PSALTER REST UPON ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE THOR- 
OUGHLY ANTIBIBLICAL 

The Hebrews of all later ages unite in making David the 
chief psalmist of Israel. How did these traditions arise? 
How did the Chronicler come to regard David as the 
father of psalmody? If David actually wrote many 
psalms, all is plain ; if not, it is difficult, if not impossible, 
to explain the origin of the view that he was Israel's 
greatest lyric poet. 

95. PSALMODY AFTER DAVID 

More than half of the psalms are ascribed to other 
writers than David, or else are anonymous. Solomon 
and Asaph and the Sons of Korah are credited with 
twenty-six psalms. Many reflect the period of the exile, 
and others were first sung after the return to the Holy 
Land. The Psalter probably contains some prayer or 
hymn from almost every crisis in the life of Israel, from 
the days of David to the time of Nehemiah. Some think 
that Psalms 44, 74, and 79 reflect the sufferings and per- 
secutions of the Maccabean wars after 167 B.C. While 
this is doubtful, the Psalter certainly contains the prayers 
and praises of devout Israelites through six centuries 
or more. 



118 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

96. TWO MORAL DIFFICULTIES IN THE PSALMS 

I. ASSERTIONS OF INNOCENCE 

See the following: 7:8; 17: 1. 5; 18:20-24; 26: 1-6; 
44:17-22. 

In explanation of such claims of innocence, note the 
following : 

1. The psalmists are sure they are in the right as 
against those who persecute them. At least, they have 
committed no great sin, such as would call for severe 
punishment 

2. In some cases the psalmists confess their sinful- 
ness in God's eyes, while, with their next breath, denying 
that they have wronged their hitter )"■ 

3. Such terms as integrity, perfect, righteous, etc., 
must lie i n t e rpr e ted in accord with the context and 

eral usage of t' anient times. They are freely 

of any man whose heart is on God's side, even 
though occasionally he should fall into grievous sins. 

II. IMPRECATIONS OR CURSES ON ENEMIES 

Read Psalms 7, 35, 55, 56, 59, 68, 79, 83, 137. Note 
especially 69:22-28 and 109:6-20. Compare Jeremiah 
18: 18-23 and Nehemiah 4:4. 5. How ought we to re- 
card these utterances of inspired writers? (a) Are 
they merely predictions, and not prayers? (b) Do they 
refer to spiritual foes? (c) Are the foes of the psalm- 
ists always incorrigible enemies of God and righteous- 
ness? Compare Psalms 7:14-16; 69:4; 109:16-18; 
Gal. 5:12. (d) Are they to be rejected by Christians 
as belonging to a time when revenge was not forbidden? 

Now, as we know, the Old Testament repeatedly 
teaches the law of kindness. Ex. 23:4. 5; Lev. 19: 17, 
18; Job 31 : 29, 30. Moreover, the New Testament often 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 119 

notes with pleasure the overthrow of the wicked. 1 Cor. 
16:22;2Tim. 4:14;Rev. 6:9, 10; 16:5,6; 18:20. 

In order to understand the presence of such earnest 
prayers for the overthrow of enemies, it will be neces- 
sary for us to remind ourselves of several important 
facts : 

1. We are dealing with poetry, and must allow the poet 
larger liberty in the vivid and dramatic expression of 
his thought. 

2. We are interpreting the language of Orientals. 

a. They are exceedingly fond of hyperbole, or rhet- 
orical exaggeration. 

b. They have no taste for abstract thought. The 
psalmists conceived of sin as incarnate in the sinner ; nor 
had they become accustomed to distinguish, as have we, 
between the sin and the sinner. 

c. The terrible curses pronounced on the family of the 
wicked men in Psalm 109 can only be properly under- 
stood, when one remembers the ancient oriental concep- 
tion of the solidarity of the family. The doctrine of 
individualism, though recognized in the Pentateuch, is 
first emphasized by the later prophets Jeremiah and 
Ezekiel. It permeates the entire New Testament. 

3. We should not forget that the heaviest imprecations 
are found in the Psalms ascribed to David. It is mani- 
fest from the history in Samuel that David was not a 
cruel, revengeful man, but that he showed marked self- 
control and a spirit of forgiveness. As the ruler of 
Israel, it was his duty to cut off wicked men among his 
own people, and to defend the chosen nation against the 
aggression of the surrounding nations. If it was his 
duty literally to use the sword, might he not also pray 
for success in destroying incorrigible foes? Compare 
Stonewall Jackson, the Christian soldier. 

4. It is but fair that we should remember, too, that 
we are yet in the twilight of Old Testament revelation, 



120 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

and not in the noonday splendor of the revelation made 
by God's own Son. We cannot expect David, even when 
inspired, to display so high a knowledge of God's for- 
giveness as we now have in the light of our Saviour's 
character and teachings. The Old Testament did not 
attain finality in the matter of polygamy and divorce. 
May not David's knowledge be below the New Testa- 
ment standard in respect to love to enemies? 

In this connection we should remember that many 
expressions in the Psalms concerning the destruction of 
enemies have an added severity for the Christian reader, 
who is liable to forget that "blotting out of the Book of 
Life" means far more for us than it did for David, the 
doctrine of future rewards and punishments having been 
greatly extended by the New Testament. 

We may at least learn from these imprecations that 
it is our duty not only to love righteousness, but to hate 
sin. We should be extremely careful never to use them 
in a manner inconsistent with the precepts or the ex- 
ample of the Lord Jesus. 

97. THE DOCTRINE OF A FUTURE LIFE IN THE PSALMS 

The future life was to the Old Testament saints prac- 
tically an unexplored country. Sheol, the place of de- 
parted souls, was a vague, shadowy region. In moments 
of depression, they even wondered whether there was 
any such life. Even now men often ask, "Does death 
end all?" Most of our knowledge of the future life 
comes from the teaching of our Lord and I lis Apostles. 
Cf. John 14, and a hundred other passages in the New 
Testament. 

In moments of exaltation, some of the Old Testament 
saints assert earnestly that their communion with God 
shall never be broken by death. Pss. 49: 15; 73:23-26. 
If these classic proofs of the existence of faith in a life 
beyond the grave stood alone in the Old Testament, they 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 121 

would still be sufficient to show that such a faith had 
taken root in Israel's life. 

The Psalter, in common with the other Books of the 
Old Testament, sounds two different notes with regard 
to the future life ; one a note of doubt or fear, the other 
a note of hope and sublime assurance. 

1. Expressions that seem to oppose the doctrine : 6 : 5 ; 
30:9; 39:13; 88:10-12; 115:17. 

A careful examination will reveal the fact that most 
of these passages are questions rather than affirma- 
tions. Men wondered what light and joy could come 
to the departed in Sheol. They praised life in this 
world, in contrast with the unexplored land of the 
shades. 

Moreover, the speakers are often men looking on the 
dark side of things and giving utterance to human fears 
natural in seasons of depression. The same persons, 
in calmer or more hopeful hours, voice their belief in a 
future life. Job 19 : 25-27 ; Eccl. 12 : 7, 14. 

2. Expressions clearly foreshadowing the Christian 
doctrine of the future life: 16:10, 11; 17:15; 23:6; 
49:15; 73:23-26. The future life of man is more 
clearly described here than anywhere else in the Old 
Testament. Compare Gen. 5 : 24 ; Ex. 3 : 6 ; 2 Kings 2 : 
11; Job 19:25-27; Eccl. 12:7; Isaiah 26:19; Dan. 12: 
2, 3. 

Belief in a future life was a doctrine firmly held in 
ancient Egypt and Babylonia. Moses and the other Old 
Testament writers use it far less as a motive to right 
living than did Jesus and the Apostles. It seems to have 
been reserved for the Son of God to reveal to men heaven 
and hell in their fullness of blessedness or of woe. He 
could describe the Father's house better than any mere 
prophet. But the passages cited above show clearly that 
in moments of exaltation the Old Testament saints had a 
full assurance of a life of communion with God beyond 
the grave. 



122 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

98. THE GOSPEL IN THE PSALMS 

The Christian discovers in the Psalms a religious life 
such as he would wish to lead. He longs to enter into 
the close fellowship with God attained by the ancient 
psalmists. These saints of olden time knew how to ap- 
proach God with reverence and godly fear. They com- 
bined dignity and fervor in their worship. 

(1) The Hebrew title for the Psalms is "Book of 
Praises." When we consider the fact that more than 
twenty of these poems have for their keynote praise, and 
that there are outbursts of thanksgiving in many others, 
the fitness of the Hebrew title dawns upon us. For the 
benefit of the diligent student, we give a list of the 
Psalms of Praise: 47, 66, 67, 96, 98, 100, 103, 107, 113, 
117, 118, 134 to 136, 138, 145 to 150. Note the mar- 
velous variety with which the singers describe the good- 
ness and the glory of God. Here is a rich vocabulary 
of praise for stammering lips. Psalm 103, in its call to 
praise, unites the tender notes of the flute with the ring- 
ing notes of the trumpet. Shall we not also try to get 
into the spirit of Psalm 145, which has been called the 
Tc Dcitm of the Old Testament? Ker says: "The Jews 
were accustomed to say that he who could pray this 
Psalm from the heart three times daily was preparing 
himself best for the praises of the world to come." 

(2) The psalmists had great joy in the house of Jeho- 
vah. Psalms 84 and 122 give beautiful expression to 
the delight of the Old Testament believer in the temple 
worship. The chief attraction of the temple was the 
presence of Jehovah in His sanctuary. David expresses 
this longing for the vision of God's face in Psalm 27 : 

"One thing have I asked of Jehovah, that I will seek 
after; 
That I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days 
of my life, 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 123 

To behold the beauty of Jehovah, 
And to inquire in His temple." 

(3) The psalmist also loved God's Word. Psalms 
19 and 119 give expression to this joy in the Bible of 
their day. Martin Luther's life was full of dangers and 
conflicts with men and demons. He was sometimes 
brought very low in body and in mind. Written on his 
Bible in his own hand are the words of Psalm 1 19 : 92 : 

"Unless thy law had been my delight, 
I should have perished in mine affliction." 

(4) The Old Testament saints "practiced the presence 
of God." Psalms 91 and 23 picture Jehovah and the 
saint in loving fellowship. The saint is with his Shep- 
herd and Protector in bright days and in dark days, in 
joy and in sorrow, in danger and in quiet hours. 

(5) The inspired poets of Israel saw God's glory in 
nature. See especially Psalm 19, in which the heavens 
are telling the glory of God; Psalm 29, the Song of the 
Storm; and Psalm 104, appropriately called "Hymn of 
Creation." 

(6) God's care of all things finds beautiful expression 
in Psalms 8, 65, and 121. "The river of God is full of 
water" (Psa. 65:9). His resources are without limit 
and always available for His saints. He never slumbers 
nor takes a vacation. 

(7) The soul's thirst for God and its delight in His 
protecting presence have found classic expression in the 
Psalter : 

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, 
So panteth my soul after thee, O God." 

Psa. 42:1. 

The longing of the human soul after God, as voiced 
in Psalms 42, 43, and 63, may seem to cold Western 



124 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

readers unnatural in its fervor; but the fault is with us, 
and not with the psalmists. 

(8) The figure of taking refuge in God is quite com- 
mon in the Psalter. Psalms 46, 61, and 62 exalt God 
as the refuge of His saints. 

"God is for us a place of refuge and a stronghold, 
A help in troubles exceedingly findable." 

(Psa. 46:1.) 

"Only He is my rock and my salvation, 
My high tower; I shall not be moved." 

(Psa. 62:6.) 

(9) We have space for only one other topic — Sin and 
Forgiveness. The seven Penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 
51, 102, 130, 143) admit us to the heart of experimental 
religion in the Old Testament times. What a keen sense 
of sin ! What depth of penitence ! What earnestness 
in seeking forgiveness! Of the seven, Psalm 51 is the 
greatest. One might justly term this prayer of the 
penitent the holy of holies of the Psalter; for, with these 
earnest words on their lips, many wanderers have come 
back to God. The ritual law, as we have already seen, 
made no provision for atonement in the case of sins 
done with a high hand ; but there was forgiveness, even 
for adultery and murder, when the sinner came to God 
with a broken spirit and a crushed heart (Psa. 51: 17). 

99. AN INSPIRED PRAYER-BOOK AND HYMNAL 

Every Christian ought to know this prayer-book well ; 
for it was given by inspiration. It contains model 
prayers, meditations, songs and benedictions. Confes- 
sion, complaint, petition, thanksgiving, aspiration — all 
the soul's emotions find a voice in the Psalms. The 
Psalter is a book for the culture of the heart, a book 



DAVID AND THE PSALMS 125 

with which to deepen one's friendship with God. If one 
wishes to learn how to approach God acceptably in wor- 
ship, this is the best manual to put into his hands. We 
cannot estimate too highly the influence of this book in 
winning men to God. Penitents have come seeking for- 
giveness with the words of the 51st Psalm; the forgiven 
have voiced their joy in words taken from the 32nd; the 
trusting have pillowed their heads on the 23rd; and the 
grateful have poured forth their praises through the 
103rd. Perowne has well said: "No single book of 
Scripture, not even of the New Testament, has, perhaps, 
ever taken such hold on the heart of Christendom. None, 
if we may dare judge, unless it be the Gospels, has had 
so large an influence in moulding the affections, sustain- 
ing the hopes, purifying the faith of believers." Luther 
spoke of the Psalter as "a Bible in miniature." 



Chapter VIII 

SOLOMON AND THE PROVERBS 

THE era of David and Solomon was the golden age 
of the Hebrew monarchy. The religious and polit- 
ical revival under Samuel led to a new sense of national 
unity in Israel. Saul at first advanced the political 
power of Israel by his victories in battle ; but he presently 
became self-willed and disobedient, and Israel's glory 
faded before the rising power of the Philistines. David, 
who was Israel's greatest general, smote his foes hip 
and thigh, and beat down all opposition on every side. 
He conquered and organized a respectable empire. The 
weakness of Egypt and Assyria in his day gave him his 
opportunity, and he was prompt to seize it. David be- 
queathed to Solomon a rich and well-organized kingdom. 

100. PROMISING BEGINNINGS OF SOLOMON'S REIGN 

Solomon, in the early part of his reign, removed four 
men who might have endangered his throne. Adonijah 
was slain for his ambition. Abiathar, who had taken 
the side of Adonijah, was deposed from the priesthood, 
and sent away to his home at Anathoth. Joab was put 
to death for all his crimes ; and Shimei was slain for 
disobedience (1 Kings 2). 

Solomon's interest in religion was shown by the great 
sacrifice which he offered at Gibeon. Jehovah appeared 
to the young king in a dream by night, and said, "Ask 
what I shall give thee." Solomon's request for wisdom 
in judging the people greatly pleased Jehovah, and He 
promised to do all that Solomon asked and much more 
besides (1 Kings 3: 1-15). 

126 



SOLOMON AND THE PROVERBS 127 

The young king's skill in judging was put to the test 
by two women. By a clever stratagem, he discovered the 
real mother of the babe over which the two women were 
contending (1 Kings 3:16-28). Men came to stand in 
awe before such a discerning judge; "for they saw that 
the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice." 

101. Solomon's growing prosperity 

Solomon inherited a great kingdom. David had 
broken the power of all the hostile peoples around the 
land of Israel. Moab and Edom and Ammon and Syria 
paid tribute to Solomon, as they had done to David. 
Tyre cultivated friendly relations with both David and 
Solomon, providing materials for the new buildings in 
Jerusalem and skilled architects and artisans to erect 
them. Solomon put the Canaanites in his dominions to 
task-work. He also perfected the organization for the 
collection of taxes from his own people. He maintained 
a wise and strong administration of the internal affairs 
of the kingdom. He chose able officers of state. His 
fame as a wise man spread far and wide, so that men 
came from other nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon. 
"And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under 
his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer- 
sheba, all the days of Solomon" (1 Kings 4, 5). 

102. Solomon's building operations 

David had collected much costly material for the build- 
ing of the temple. Solomon added to this, and employed 
the best artists and artisans of Tyre to superintend the 
work. Only the choicest materials were used in the edi- 
fice. The work having been completed in seven years 
and a half, Solomon assembled the elders of Israel at 
Jerusalem for the formal dedication. The priests 
brought the ark of the covenant out of the Tent which 



128 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

David had pitched into the most holy place of the Tem- 
ple. At once the cloud of glory filled the house of Jeho- 
vah. Solomon then stood before the altar of Jd 
in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread 
forth his hands toward heaven, and prayed Jehovah to 
cause His name to dwell in the house he had built for 
Him. He 

toward the Temple. prayer ol 

ition with '• " ] ! ' 

I le. It i 

time of •;• '■' :i11 tM <" 

ing i' ' '' tllc 

1 for 

Uru- 

' •' ' 

annual fa 

Solomon also buill 

realm. Hi 

building ;:lt a 

•i. loiiinuTic writ] mon's 

Mil: CaITie 

great distances to sea ! '» near 

his wisdom. 1 ns and po< • Sol- 
omon's era as the golden age of prosperity and peace 
i 1 Kings 9, 10). 

103. THE DECLINE OF SOLOMON 

Solomon's great mistake was the formation of an ex- 
.rem. He imitated the oriental despots in col- 



SOLOMON AND THE PROVERBS 129 

lecting a great number of wives and concubines, many 
of whom were foreigners. "And he had seven hundred 
wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines ; and his 
wives turned away his heart" (1 Kings 11:3). Solo- 
mon built heathen sanctuaries in which his foreign wives 
could worship their gods. East of the temple hill, and 
in full view from Jehovah's sanctuary, rose columns of 
incense to cruel Molech and lascivious Ashtoreth. We 
are not surprised to read that Jehovah was angry with 
Solomon. He raised up adversaries to vex Solomon in 
his old age, and announced the secession of ten tribes 
from the rule of Solomon's son. Jeroboam received the 
promise of a throne in northern Israel (1 Kings 11). 
Solomon's decline is a sad commentary on human wis- 
dom : the wisest man of his time played the fool, and left 
the world under a cloud. We have reason to believe that 
the pleasure-loving Solomon was not finally cast off by 
Jehovah like the willful, rebellious Saul. 

104. SOLOMON AS AN AUTHOR 

Three books in the Old Testament are commonly 
ascribed to Solomon, — Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the 
Song of Solomon. As to Ecclesiastes, there is almost 
unanimous agreement among modern scholars that the 
book was written toward the close of the Old Testament 
period. The lessons of Solomon's experience are gath- 
ered up by a later writer, who puts himself in Solomon's 
place and writes as if he were Solomon. He gives full 
vent to his scepticism and to the sense of disappointment 
with life. He preaches vigorously and fearlessly on the 
vanity of human life. "All is vanity and a feeding on 
wind." The book, however, comes to a sane and rev- 
erent conclusion: "Fear God, and keep His command- 
ments; for this is the whole duty of man" (Eccl. 12: 13). 

The Song of Songs is a collection of love songs, greatly 
admired by orientals for their beauty and chasteness. 



130 THE HEART OF THE OLD 1 ESTAMENT 

To our western taste they seem too fervid, and enter too 
much into the description of physical charms. Many 
devout souls in Christian hisl nterpreted the 

book as referring to the mutual love of Christ and the 
Church. Recent scholars, for the most part, think that 
the book celebrates the strength and constancy of human 
love. On this \ to win the 

love of a beautiful girl, who remains true I .herd 

If this view is correc:. Bible a 

•l man and 
•i, a love on which the home is built. It would be 
fitting that such love should receive recognition in I 

While 1' 

illy recognized that 

B 'k of 

: illiant proverb-maker of the 

• i the 

of the b< ipteTi 

30 a; ' ( in " 

being 

e words The large 

collection of bl I to 22: 16 

i the group in 
p rov , | vit by the 

men of Hezekiah. There remain^ 
tion on Wisdom in 

not need to know the author of a . order 

to appreciate its beauty and accept it as a guide to con- 
duct. The tendency in recent critici-m of the Bible is 
to reduce every book to fragments and to multiply unduly 
imaginary authors and editors. Common sense will con- 
to discount the claims of an over-confident criticism. 
Solomon's wisdom forms the core of the Book of 
Proverbs, just as David's psalms are the crown of the 
Psalter. 



SOLOMON AND THE PROVERBS 131 

105. A BUSINESS MANUAL FOR YOUNG MEN 

While the Book of Proverbs offers increase in learn- 
ing to the wise man, its chief aim is "to give prudence 
to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discre- 
tion" (Prov. 1:1-6). It is a business manual to guide 
young men to success in life. Its constant appeal is to 
young men. The author does not indulge in speculative 
thought, but gives his attention to practical life. What- 
ever will stimulate young men to honesty and industry 
and purity he gladly uses. How to make the best of 
life is the problem in which the Old Testament sages 
took the keenest interest. Although the Book of 
Proverbs as a whole is intended to be a manual for young 
men, the closing chapter paints the portrait of the ideal 
Hebrew matron. In general, the position of woman in 
Proverbs is high, and her power for good or ill in the 
home and in society is fully recognized. 

106. WISDOM AND FOLLY CONTRASTED 

The first nine chapters of the book introduce the young 
man to two women who seek to win his confidence and 
affection, — Wisdom and Folly. Much of the language 
of these chapters is put into the mouth of Wisdom. 

The author recommends religion as the foundation for 
a successful life : "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning 
of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7). Dr. Toy well says: "The 
thought of the greater part of the Book is definitely re- 
ligious, standing in sympathetic and reverent contact 
with the conception of a just and wise divine govern- 
ment of the world. The sages are independent thinkers, 
but refer their wisdom ultimately to God." 

After an earnest warning against joining a band of 
robbers, the author introduces Wisdom as making her 
appeal to the simple : she will mock when calamity over- 
takes those who reject her reproof (Prov. 1). If a 



132 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

young man will earnestly seek Wisdom, he shall know 
God and righteousness, and be preserved from wicked 
men and from the strange woman (Prov. 2). In his 
relation to God, let the young man trust in, honor, and 
submit to Jehovah (3: 1-12). Happy the man that finds 
Wisdom (3:13-26). In his relations to his fellows, 
let the wise man avo ntcntious- 

ness, violence, and the lik« « the 

principal thing. Let the young man avoid the path of 
the wicked and walk straight forward in way, 

guarding his Ik :1 the 

strange woman K-18). 

.vn to the chambers of <I< 
The author inveighs a laziness, 

and pictu: .ling to n* 

better 

than crea " 

the man that 
(Prov. 8). Wiidom and Folly both invite the young 
man to a .he harlot I the young 

man, 

ret is plea 

This is the language of the vile woman, and ought not 
to be lightly used by decent persons. 

There is no book better than Proverbs for the teach- 
ing of personal purity. Vice is pictured clearly, without 
being made attracts. home life is exalted, and 

impurity is seen to be dangerous and damnable. 



SOLOMON AND THE PROVERBS 133 

107. STRIKING ETHICAL AND SOCIAL TEACHINGS 

After the connected discourse in the first nine chap- 
ters, the book is composed of brief proverbs on a great 
variety of subjects. The attentive reader will discover 
here and there groups of sayings dealing with a common 
topic. Thus in 12 : 13-23 most of the proverbs refer to 
human speech, in 26:1-12 to the fool, in 26:13-16 to 
the sluggard, and 26: 17-28 to the mischief-maker. It 
is a profitable exercise to go through the book and collect 
all the proverbs dealing with a given topic. 

(1) Industry and its opposite, laziness, receive fre- 
quent mention in this manual for young men. The wise 
man prods the sluggard with such goads as the follow- 
ing: 

"As the door turneth upon its hinges, 
So doth the sluggard upon his bed. 
The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish ; 
It wearieth him to bring it again to his mouth." 

(Prov.26:14,15.) 

"The sluggard saith, There is a lion without: 
I shall be slain in the streets." 

(Prov.22:13.) 

"Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty ; 
Open thine eyes, and thou shall be satisfied with bread." 

(Prov.20:13.) 

"He also that is slack in his work 
Is brother to him that is a destroyer." 

(Prov.l8:9.) 

Such ringing words are like the sting of a whip- 
cracker to a lazy ox. See also the classic picture of the 
sluggard in Proverbs 24 : 30-34, and the proverbs found 
in 12:11, 24, 27; 13:4; 14:23; 15:19; 16:26; 19: 



134 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

15, 24; 20:4; 21:5, 25; 22:29; 26:13-16; 27:23-27; 
31 : 27. 

(2) The good and evil uses of the tongue are the sub- 
jects of many proverbs. Let the student make a list 
for himself of the proverbs that refer to human speech, 
putting on one sheet all references to speech as good and 
helpful, and on another all uses that are harmful. YYc 
call attention to a few only of the many striking sayings 
concerning the tongue : 

"A soft answer turneth away wrath ; 
But a grievous word stirrcth up anger." 

(Prov. 15:1.) 

"A perverse man seatten-th abroad strife; 
And a whisperer scparateth chief friend-." 

v. 16:28.) 

"The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water; 
Therefore leave off contention, before there is quar- 
rclr (Prov. 17: 14.) 

"It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; 
But every fool will be quarreling." 

(Prov. 20: 3.) 

"It is better to dwell in the corner of the hotl* 
Than with a contentious woman in a wid 

(Prov. 21:9.) 

"A man hath joy in the answer of his mouth ; 
And a word in due season, how good is it !" 

(Prov. 15:23.) 

"A word fitly spoken 
Is like apples of gold in network of silver." 

(Prov. 25: 11.) 

"He kisseth the lips 
Who giveth a right answer." 

(Prov. 24: 26.) 



SOLOMON AND THE PROVERBS 135 

(3) The wise man gives much sound counsel as to the 
conduct of one's business. He warns the young man 
against standing as surety for other men's debts (Prov. 
6:1-5; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13). The 
book has been criticized by some as teaching selfishness 
in these warnings against security debts ; but the history 
of security debts, if it could be written fully and frankly, 
would vindicate the wisdom of the Hebrew sage. It is 
a beneficent provision of the modern business world 
that guaranty companies will now, for a reasonable con- 
sideration, go on the bonds of all officials, thus relieving 
their personal friends of the heavy burden. This prin- 
ciple ought to be extended to loans in bank, and any 
man ought to be willing to pay a company for its en- 
dorsement. It is just as dangerous and foolish for a 
man to let another trade on his credit now, as it was in 
the days of Solomon. We ought to lend and give freely ; 
but it is not wise to go on another man's paper. Sooner 
or later the indorser will smart for it. 

(4) The warnings against wine are often quoted: 

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; 
And whosoever erreth thereby is not wise." 

(Prov. 20:1.) 

"Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, 
When it sparkleth in the cup, 
When it goeth down smoothly: 
At the last it biteth like a serpent, 
And stingeth like an adder." 

(Prov. 23:31, 32.) 

(5) The Book of Proverbs exalts true friendship: 

"A friend loveth at all times; 
And is born as a brother for adversity." 

(Prov. 17:17.) 



136 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

"He that maketh many friends doeth it to his own de- 
struction ; 
But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." 

(Prov. 18:24.) 

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; 
But the kisses of an enemy are profuse." 

(Prov. 27: 6.) 

For additional proverbs on friendship, see 27 : 9, 10, 
14, 17. The wise man taught that a man can have only 
a few real friends; if he tries to form intimacies on 
every hand, it will be to his own undoing. A true friend 
is one of God's noblest gifts. 

The wise man does not hesitate to employ riddles and 
conundrums, if they will convey his message (Prov. 1: 
6; 30: 15-31). God uses all methods of approach to a 
man's mind and heart, that He may lead him to a higher 
ethical and spiritual life. 

The Christian student can learn much from the Book 
of Proverbs as to the wise conduct of his life in business 
and in society. The New Testament writers make about 
twenty quotations from this book of practical precepts. 
As a further encouragement to the student to make him- 
self familiar with its teaching, we quote the testimony 
of Professor C. H. Toy, one of the most learned com- 
mentators on Proverbs: "The high ethical standard of 
the Book is universally recognized. Its maxims all look 
to the establishment of a safe, peaceful, happy social 
life, in the family and the community ; the supposed ex- 
ceptions, cases of alleged selfish prudence (as, for ex- 
ample, the caution against giving security), are only 
apparent, since proper regard for self is an element of 
justice." 



Chapter IX 

THE EARLY KINGS AND. PROPHETS 

108. INTRODUCTORY 

AFTER the death of Solomon (931 B.C.), his son 
Rehoboam faced a crisis. The people asked that 
the burdens imposed upon them by Solomon be made 
lighter. Discontent was widespread among the northern 
tribes, who found in Jeroboam the son of Nebat a capable 
leader. When Rehoboam followed the counsel of the 
younger men, who advised him to lord it over the people 
and treat them as slaves, all the tribes except Judah and 
Benjamin openly revolted and chose Jeroboam as their 
king. From 931 B.C. to 722 B.C. the two kingdoms 
existed side by side, sometimes in friendly alliance, but 
often at war with each other. In 722 B.C. the Northern 
Kingdom fell before the mighty Assyrians, and the peo- 
ple of Samaria were swept into exile. The Kingdom 
of Judah continued until 587 B.C., when Nebuchadnez- 
zar destroyed Jerusalem and carried the people captive 
to Babylon. 

109. glimpses of Israel's early kings 

Let us first take a rapid survey of the history of the 
Kingdom of Israel or Ephraim. Jeroboam I. was not a 
deeply religious man. He was a warrior and a politician. 
it seemed to him unwise to let his subjects go to Jeru- 
salem to worship in the Temple, lest the king of Judah 
might win them back to their allegiance to the house of 
David. Hence Jeroboam set ud golden calves at Bethel 
137 



138 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

near his southern border and at Dan in the far north, 
and invited his people to worship Jehovah through these 
images. He changed the time of the feast of Taber- 
nacles from the seventh to the eighth month, and allowed 
anybody who wished to do so to become priests before 
the golden calves. He thus lost the support of the 
Levites, who flocked to Jerusalem in great numbers ; and 
the prophets denounced the calf worship as a sin. An 
unnamed prophet from Judah thundered against Jero- 
boam's altar; and Ahijah, the prophet who had promised 
to Jeroboam the rule over ten tribes, in his old age pre- 
dicted the complete rejection of Jeroboam and his house 
(I Kings 12 to 14). His son Nadab reigned two short 
years, when he was assassinated by Baasha. 

Baasha fought against Asa of Judah, in a vain attempt 
to stop the exodus of religious people out of Israel into 
Judah, where a great revival was in progress. Asa hired 
Benhadad of Damascus to attack Baasha in the rear. 
Baasha at once gave up his attempt to build a city that 
would enable him to threaten Judah. Baasha's son was 
assassinated after a reign of only two years (I Kings 
15:25 to 16:14). 

The assassin Zimri lived only seven days to enjoy the 
fruits of his treason. He was succeeded by Omri, the 
founder of a new dynasty. Omri choc a new site for his 
capital, showing the eye of a trained soldier in his elec- 
tion of a strong hill surrounded by a valley. Samaria re- 
sisted many sieges. It took the trained engineers of As- 
syria over two years to force their way into the fortress. 
Omri also strengthened himself politically by securing 
for his son Ahab the hand of Jezebel, a princess of Zidon. 
This marriage, which seemed to Omri a happy diplomatic 
stroke, precipitated a religious struggle which shook Israel 
from center to circumference. Ahab was a brave general ; 
but he cared little for the religion of his fathers. When 
Jezebel decided to change the religion of Israel, importing 
the prophets of Baal and the priests of Astarte to teach 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 139 

Israel the religious rites and customs of Zidon, Ahab 
made no objection. Jezebel ruled him by her superior 
intelligence and iron will. When the prophets of Jehovah 
thundered against the foreign teachers and their patron, 
Jezebel replied with the sword. They were hunted down 
by her cruel soldiers. Soon all open opposition to the 
queen's program ceased. It seemed that she had sup- 
planted the religion of Jehovah by the religion of Baal 
and Astarte. Her high-handed methods stirred the soul 
of a mountaineer in Gilead, and Elijah stepped forth as 
the champion of Jehovah to engage in combat with the 
champion of heathenism (I Kings 16). 

1 10. ELIJAH THE PROPHET 

Had there been no Jezebel, there had been no need for 
an Elijah. Jehovah could not afford to let a heathen 
princess uproot His worship from Israel. His answer to 
her challenge was the mission of Elijah. 

The prophet was perhaps now a man in the prime of 
his powers. For months he had been engaged in anxious 
thought and earnest prayer, as the news of Jezebel's cam- 
paign against Jehovah and His religion came to him in 
his mountain home. He began to pray that it might not 
rain on the land given up to idolatry. As he prayed, there 
came to him the conviction that he must go forth as 
Jehovah's representative to fight the forces of Baal. Je- 
hovah gave to His servant the keys with which to lock 
the heavens, so that no rain nor dew should fall upon the 
sinful land. 

Elijah's first appearance before Ahab was sudden and 
unannounced, and the message was startling: "As Je- 
hovah, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, 
there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according 
to my word." Every word weighed a pound. The 
prophet's departure was as sudden as his coming; for 
the Lord bade him to hide. 



140 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Elijah took refuge by the brook Cherith, probably east 
of the Jordan. Here he was put in training for his future 
task. His food was provided in a miraculous way, but 
his water supply was dependent upon the brook, which 
gradually dwindled away, until no water was left. He 
was thus thrown back upon faith in Jehovah. 

Now the command comes to go to Zarephath, a town 
near Jezebel's home in Zidon, and to take refuge with a 
widow. This was another test of the prophet's faith. It 
looked like putting one's head into the mouth of the lion- 
ess. But the prophet's faith stood the strain, and soon 
he was the guest of the widow, who literally divided her 
last crust with the prophet of Jehovah. Day by day their 
food was supplied. This sojourn in the home at Zare- 
phath was a part of Elijah's discipline for his later tasks. 
One day a great shock came to the widow and her guest, 
when her son breathed his last in her arms. Elijah's 
heart was touched ; for he had learned to love the lad, 
and the widow's grief was piteous to behold. Taking the 
boy in his arms, he strode up the stairway to his own 
room, and laying the lad on his own couch, Elijah prayed 
Jehovah to let the soul of the child come into him again. 
Three times he prayed and stretched himself on the lad. 
Jehovah heard the prophet's prayer and restored the boy 
to life. Taking up the lad in his strong arms, the prophet 
stalked down the stairs into the family room and pre- 
sented him alive to his mother. The good woman came 
into a larger and richer knowledge of God through her 
great trial (I Kings 17). 

111. THE TEST ON MOUNT CARMEL 

After three years and a half, Elijah is commanded 
to show himself a second time to Ahab. On the way he 
meets Obadiah, prime minister at the court of Ahab and 
Jezebel, and yet a devout worshiper of Jehovah. Elijah 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 141 

was great enough to recognize in Obadiah a fellow serv- 
ant of the God of Israel, though he could not have held 
his office at court for a single day. 

As soon as Ahab heard of Elijah's approach, he drove 
rapidly to meet him. When he drew near to the prophet, 
he called aloud, "Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?" 
Perhaps he thought that Elijah would show signs of fear. 
If so, he was badly mistaken ; for Elijah charges upon the 
king and the court the sins that have brought calamity 
upon the land. He directs the king to assemble the four 
hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred 
prophets of the Asherah to Mount Carmel. What could 
Ahab do in the presence of a man who carried the keys 
of the heavens ? He at once sent messengers to assemble 
the prophets on Mount Carmel. 

Elijah had a strenuous day on Mount Carmel. He first 
made an address to the people, urging them to quit limp- 
ing between two sides, and to come out openly either for 
Jehovah or for Baal. He then challenges the prophets of 
Baal to a contest by fire. The people say that the test 
is fair, and the prophets of Baal are forced to show what 
their god can do. Elijah watches them closely, lest they 
slip fire under the wood on the altar. After a while he 
mocks them and their god. At length, he builds an altar 
to Jehovah, and calls down fire from heaven. Before 
the heathen prophets can slip away, he orders that they 
be arrested and put to death at the foot of the mountain. 
It only remains to bring down rain upon the thirsty 
earth ; so Elijah goes to the top of the mountain to pray 
for rain. Seven times his servant goes to look, before he 
discovers a tiny cloud coming up from the sea. Elijah 
had been praying with all his soul for the coming of rain. 
As the storm gathers, Elijah girds up his loins and runs 
before Ahab's chariot all the way across the plain to Jez- 
reel, sixteen miles away. As he bounded along he was 
thinking of the wonderful events of the day. It seemed 



142 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

to him the greatest day in history. He had surpassed 
Moses and Joshua and Samuel. He felt himself to be 
better than his fathers (I Kings 18). 

112. THE FLIGHT TO HOREB 

No doubt he expected an invitation to spend the night 
in the king's palace. But when they entered Jezreel, 
Ahab rode to his palace, and Elijah was left in the streets. 
He was worn out by the exciting experiences of the day. 
Before he had time to rest and refresh himself, a mes- 
senger from the queen came to him with the threat that 
she would kill him before another day passed by. Elijah 
was limp and weak physically after the most exhausting 
day's work in all his life. He was also disappointed and 
chagrined that he should be neglected by the king. He 
felt that he deserved unique honors at the hands of his 
j( pic He was rudely awakened from his musings by 
the fierce queen's threat. He had no reserves to put in the 
battle. He made haste to get out of Jezreel before the 
city gates closed, and turning his face southward, he went 
for his life. At Beer-sheba he left his tired servant, and 
plunged on for another day into the wilderness. At 
length, exhausted, he sank under a juniper tree, and asked 
that he might die. A good angel brought bread and water 
to the faint and weary prophet. He was also refreshed 
by sleep. He finally reached Horeb, the mount from 
which Jehovah spoke to Moses and the fathers. Here he 
dwelt in a cave and went to school to the God of Israel. 

"What, then, did Elijah learn at this period? 

(1) A lesson of humility: "I am no better than my 
fathers." 

(2) A lesson of courage. Do not run until Jehovah 
commands it. 

(3) A lesson in gentleness. Do not trust too much in 
violent means for promoting religion. 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 143 

(4) A lesson in patience and perseverance. God knows 
better than we do when our work is finished. 

(5) A lesson of hopefulness: "Yet will I leave me seven 
thousand that have not bowed the knee to Baal." God 
has more servants than we sometimes imagine. 

113. Elijah's closing ministry 

God sent Elijah back to call and train Elisha as his 
successor in the prophetic office. Elisha was not indo- 
lent, though living in the hot valley of the Jordan, and the 
son of a man in good circumstances financially; for he 
both plowed and superintended the work of many others. 
He gladly left home and farm to be the companion and 
helper of Elijah. Happy the pupil that has an Elijah for 
his teacher ! Equally happy the teacher that has an Elisha 
for his pupil ! For months, and possibly years, Elisha 
pours water on the hands of Elijah (1 Kings 19). 

Ahab by divine aid won signal victories over the 
Syrians, but failed to follow them up (1 Kings 20). His 
treatment of Naboth brought Elijah to confront him at 
the very moment he was about to take possession of the 
vineyard of the man whom Jezebel had slain. Elijah's 
old-time fire and courage have returned. He predicts the 
bloody death of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21). 

Ahab made a league with Jehoshaphat of Judah against 
the Syrians of Damascus. Before going to battle pious 
Jehoshaphat insisted on consulting a prophet of Jehovah. 
He did not put much confidence in the four hundred 
prophets who encouraged Ahab to attack the Syrians. 
When Micaiah the son of Imlah was called into the pres- 
ence of the two kings, he at first sarcastically repeated 
the encouraging words of the false prophets; but when 
Ahab insisted that he speak the truth, he announced the 
death of Ahab and the defeat of Israel in the approaching 
battle. The brave man was sent to prison for speaking 



144 THE HEART OF THE OU 

unwelcome truth. Evidently Elijah 
prophet of Jehovah in Israel. Brai 
to be remembered along with the g 
22). 

Ahab fell in battle at Ramoth-gil 
foretold, and was succeeded by his 
this wicked king fell from the secor 
and was sorely wounded, he sent 
zebub, the god of Ekron, to inquire n 
cover. Elijah planted himself squc 
messengers, and sent them back to 1 
announcement that he should certa 
king tried to arrest Elijah, fire came 
the first two captains and their men. 
respectful to Jehovah's prophet. "V\ 
into the palace and repeated the pre 
would not recover (2 Kings 1). 

It was probably in the early p 
Jehoram of Israel that Elijah wenl 
into heaven. Elisha kept close to 
last day, knowing that he would m 
to enjoy his instruction. He longed 
successor, and God granted his requ 
the Jordan, after the ascension of 
mantle, and the waters parted for h 
for his great teacher. 

1 i/i 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 

and Gehazi was stricken with leprosy as a punishm 
lying and covetousness (2 Kings 5:20-27). 

The following miracles of mercy were wrou 
Elisha : 

(1) Healing the spring at Jericho by casting 
(2 Kings 2:19-22). 

(2) Supplying the allied armies of Israel, Jud; 
Edom with water (2 Kings 3). 

(3) Supplying oil to the widow for the redemp 
her sons (2 Kings 4: 1-7). 

(4) Raising from the dead the son of the SI 
mite (2 Kings 4:8-37). 

(5) Removing the bitter taste from the pott 
Kings 4: 38-41). 

(6) Multiplying the loaves for the people (2 
4:42-44). 

(7) Healing Naaman's leprosy (2 Kings 5). 

(8) Making the ax to swim (2 Kings 6: 1-7). 

(9) Leading the Syrians into Samaria and s 
them away kindly (2 Kings 6: 8-23). 

Elisha also made the following predictions : 

(1) Announcement of plenty in famished S 
(2 Kings 6:24 to 7:20). 

(2) Warning the Shunammite of a seven-years' 
(2 Kings 8:1-6). 

(3) Prediction of Hazael's cruelty to Israel (2 
8:7-15). 

(4) Interview with Tehoash, and announcement 



146 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Jezreel (2 Kings 9). Jehu destroyed all the sons of 
Ahab, and also slew all the worshipers of Baal ; but he 
retained the golden calves set up by Jeroboam the son 
of Nebat. In his days the Syrians under Hazael made 
serious inroads upon Israel, especially east of the Jordan 
(2 Kings 10). Under his son and successor Jehoahaz, 
Israel was brought low by the Syrians ; but under Jehoash 
Israel regained its independence, as Elisha had predicted 
on his death-bed. 

116. CONTRAST BETWEEN ELIJAH AND ELISHA 

Elijah and Elisha were quite unlike in their personal 
history and in the character of their work. Elijah's home 
was in the mountains of Gilead ; Elisha's in the hot Jordan 
valley. Elijah seems to have owned nothing but a mantle 
and girdle; Elisha was the son of a man who could send 
twelve plows to his field. Elijah was much alone, not 
being magnetic and companionable; Elisha was the 
trusted friend and counselor of kings, and the favorite 
guest of both rich and poor. Elijah was the avenger and 
destroyer; Elisha was the quiet statesman and religious 
teacher, his miracles being chiefly works of mercy. The 
words and deeds of Elijah remind us of John the Bap- 
tist; the miracles of Elisha point to the work of Jesus. 

Still it remains true that Elijah is the greater char- 
acter. He ranks with Enoch and with Moses. He was 
not, like John, a forerunner; for Elisha was merely his 
greatest disciple. 

Before taking up Jeroboam II., with whose reign three 
of the Minor Prophets are associated, it will be well for 
us to turn back for a rapid survey of the history in 
Judah from the accession of Rehoboam in 931 B.C. 

117. GLIMPSES OF JUDAH'S EARLY KINGS 

Rehoboam played the fool more than once. For a few 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 147 

years after the division of the kingdom he seems to have 
been comparatively faithful to Jehovah ; but when he be- 
came strong, he forsook the law of Jehovah. Shishak 
invaded the land and plundered Jerusalem (2 Chron. 
10 to 12). Rehoboam's son and successor, Abijah, was 
successful in battle against Israel (2 Chron. 13). 

Asa, the third king of Judah, was contemporary with 
the first seven kings of Israel, coming to the throne in 
the twentieth year of Jeroboam I., and continuing to the 
fourth year of Ahab. He was victorious in battle with 
the Ethiopians and Egyptians (2 Chron. 14). Asa 
wrought reforms in Judah, and stirred up a revival. He 
made the mistake of forming a league with the heathen 
kingdom of Syria (2 Chron. 15, 16). 

Jehoshaphat was a good king. His chief fault was his 
readiness to join in with men like Ahab on some fool's 
errand. Jehu the son of Hanani the seer rebuked him 
for his alliance with the wicked Ahab. Jehoshaphat im- 
proved the administration of justice among his people. 
He was wonderfully delivered from a great invasion of 
peoples from the east of the Dead Sea (2 Chron. 17 
to 20). 

Jehoshaphat made the mistake of taking Athaliah, the 
daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, to be the wife of his son 
Jehoram. The names of Jehoram and Athaliah are blots 
on the pages of Judah's history. Jehoram's short reign 
was full of sins and of calamities. Men were glad when 
he was dead (2 Chron. 21). 

118. THE PROPHECY OF OBADIAH 

It is possible that the prophecy of Obadiah, which ap- 
pears as fourth in the roll of the Minor Prophets, was 
delivered about the close of Jehoram's reign (845 B.C.). 
Many good scholars put it shortly after 587 B.C. On 
the whole, we prefer the early date, though fully aware 
of the strong case that can be made out for a date shortly 



148 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar. 
Obadiah's message is directed against Edom. The 
proud Edomites need not fancy that they are unassail- 
able in their lofty fastnesses. Jehovah will bring them 
down because of their violence and cruelty to Israel. 
They took part with Judah's enemies and helped on the 
calamity. Retribution shall certainly overtake them. 
Jehovah's people shall again enjoy prosperity in their 
own land. The most significant expression in the book is 
the closing affirmation, "and the kingdom shall be Je- 
hovah's" (Obadiah 1 to 21). 

119. A CRISIS IN JUDAH 

After the death of Jehoram, Ahaziah began to reign. 
In less than a year he fell mortally wounded by Jehu's 
archers. His mother Athaliah slew all the seed royal, 
except the infant Joash, and seized the reins of govern- 
ment. Baal worship was introduced into Jerusalem and 
the temple was neglected. After six years of heathen 
domination, Judah enjoyed a gracious revival under the 
boy king Joash, who was guided by his benefactor, the 
aged high priest Jehoiada. As long as Jehoiada lived, 
Joash worshiped Jehovah and governed his people accord- 
ing to the law. During the minority of Joash (about 830 
B.C.), when the high priest directed affairs in Judah, 
probably occurred the plague of locusts described by Joel. 

120. THE PROPHECY OF JOEL 

Joel was well acquainted with the priestly rites and 
sacrifices. He was at home in the Temple. This renders 
it probable that he lived in Jerusalem ; and he may have 
been a priest. 

The prophet first describes a double scourge of locusts 
and of drought. All classes are called upon to lament 
and mourn over the desolation of the land. The priests 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 149 

are urged to sanctify a fast and call a solemn assembly 
of all classes in the house of Jehovah. The prophet him- 
self cries to Jehovah on behalf of his suffering people 
(Joel 1). 

The prophet describes the approaching "Day of Jeho- 
vah," under the figure of a yet more terrible scourge of 
locusts. Some think that the locusts are a figure for a 
great army of men about to invade Judah. Whether lit- 
eral locusts or men, the scourge threatens to break in 
upon the land, and it is Jehovah who marshals the host. 
Hence the call to repentance. If Jehovah can be per- 
suaded to withhold the scourge, the land will not be dev- 
astated. The call to repentance reveals Jehovah's mercy 
and the sort of repentance that is acceptable in His eyes : 
"yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn unto me with all your 
heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with 
mourning: and rend your heart and not your garments, 
and turn unto Jehovah your God; for He is gracious 
and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving- 
kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil" (Joel 2: 1-17). 

Joel's message bore fruit. The repentance of the 
people must have been deep and thorough; for the 
prophet tells us: "Then was Jehovah jealous for His 
land, and had pity on His people" (Joel 2 : 18). Jehovah 
promises both material and spiritual blessings. He will 
destroy the locusts and send seasonable rains, so that 
there shall be abundant pasturage, grain, and fruits (Joel 
2 : 19-27) . He will also pour out His Spirit upon all 
classes (Joel 2:28-32), a promise gloriously fulfilled at 
Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21). Jehovah also promises to 
destroy all nations that oppress His people. He will be 
a refuge to Israel, and will dwell in Zion, His holy 
mountain (Joel 3). 

Joel is one of the most deeply spiritual of all the 
prophets. We should naturally expect him to be mission- 
ary also in his outlook ; but he describes the heathen only 
in their attitude of opposition to Jehovah's kingdom. 



150 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Isaiah and the later prophets will develop the missionary 
idea in all its glory. The prophet Jonah, about 800 B.C., 
shortly after Joel, according to our view, became a mis- 
sionary to the capital of the heathen world. 

121. FROM JOASII TO UZZIAH 

King Joash repaired the temple of Jehovah. He seems 
to have taken greater interest in the work than the priests 
and Levites (2 Chron. 24:4-14). After the death of 
Jehoiada, Joash fell into idolatry and other sins. He even 
murdered the son of his great benefactor (2 Chron. 
24:15-27). 

Amaziah was an ambitious and vainglorious king. 
After conquering the Edomites, he was foolish enough 
to bring their gods to Jerusalem that he might worship 
them. He challenged Jehoash of Israel to battle. He 
was captured, and part of the wall of Jerusalem was 
broken down by Jehoash (2 Chron. 25). 

Uzziah (or Azariah) was one of Judah's strongest 
kings. He was successful in war, and also built up the 
agricultural resources of Judah. He reopened the trade 
through the Red Sea. Toward the close of his reign he 
tried to usurp the functions of the priest and offer 
sacrifice in the temple. He was smitten with leprosy for 
his sacrilege (2 Chron. 26). "In the year that king 
Uzziah died," the greatest of the writing prophets re- 
ceived his call to be a prophet (Isa. 6:1). 

122. THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM II 

This is a good place to leave off the story of Judah's 
early kings and prophets. We return now to the story 
of Israel's prophets in the days of Jeroboam II. (790 
to 750 B.C.). 

In 2 Kings 14 : 25 we read of Jeroboam : "He restored 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 151 

the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath unto 
the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Jehovah, 
the God of Israel, which He spake by His servant Jonah 
the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gathhepher." 
Israel's borders were enlarged by Jeroboam so as to in- 
clude the country from the entrance of Hamath, in the 
far north, to the Dead Sea, in the south. This era of 
prosperity had been foretold by the prophet Jonah. It 
was a privilege for the young prophet to announce to 
his countrymen the good times ahead. Jonah did not re- 
sist a call to the prophetic ministry. Patriot as he was, 
he rejoiced to bear Jehovah's message of cheer to his 
people. Jonah had almost certainly seen Elisha, and may 
possibly have sat at his feet in one of the prophetic 
schools. Happy in his ministry to Israel, he was one day 
startled by a command to go far hence to the Gentiles. 

123. JONAH AN UNWILLING FOREIGN MISSIONARY 

"Now the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the son 
of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, 
and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up be- 
fore me" (Jonah 1 : 1,2). Instead of going to Nineveh, 
Jonah rose up to flee to the farthest known point in the 
opposite direction. Why did Jehovah's prophet behave 
thus? He himself tells us, as he complains because Je- 
hovah had decided to spare Nineveh: "O Jehovah, was 
not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? 
Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew 
that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, 
and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of 
the evil" (Jonah 4:2). Jonah did not wish Nineveh 
to be spared, lest it devour Israel with open mouth. 
Jonah was an intense patriot, narrow-minded and ex- 
clusive in his devotion to Israel's welfare. 

Jehovah taught Jonah a lesson through the gourd that 



152 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

came up to protect him from the rays of the sun. As 
Jonah sat begging in anger that he might die because of 
the loss of the grateful shade of the vine, Jehovah said : 
"Thou hast had regard for the gourd, for which thou 
hast not labored, neither madest it grow ; which came up 
in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I have 
regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more 
than a hundred and twenty thousand persons (infants) 
that cannot discern between their right hand and their 
left hand ; and also much cattle?" Let these closing words 
introduce us to the main lesson of the Book of Jonah. 
God cares enough for a heathen city to send to it a true 
prophet to warn its people of approaching destruction. 
He accepts the repentance of the heathen, just as He does 
that of His chosen people. If it was wrong in Jonah to 
refuse to bear the message of Israel's God to a foreign 
nation, it is even worse for us to refuse to carry the good 
news about Jesus to peoples sitting in darkness and the 
shadow of death. 

124. AMOS AN AGGRESSIVE HOME MISSIONARY 

Jonah probably prophesied about 800 B.C., just prior 
to Jeroboam's accession to the throne of Israel (or 
Ephraim). When Jeroboam's prosperous reign had 
brought in luxury with its attendant evils, Jehovah sent 
to Israel a missionary from Tekoa, in Judah. It was 
only twenty-two miles from Tekoa, the home of Amos, 
to Bethel, where he opened his ministry to Israel. Amos 
could eat breakfast at home and take supper in Bethel. 
The ministry of Amos probably came in the latter part 
of the reign of Jeroboam II. (about 760 B.C.). He was 
a herdsman and a dresser of sycomore trees. He was 
not educated for a prophet ; but Jehovah called him from 
his humble employment to bear His message to the North- 
ern Kingdom. He was a keen observer of men and 
things, burning with righteous indignation at the wrongs 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 153 

heaped upon the poor and helpless. He was a fearless 
prophet of God, who would not be turned aside by threats 
of violence. 



125. JUDGMENT ON THE NATIONS 

The text from which Amos preached was a trumpet 
call to repentance : "Jehovah w iH roar from Zion" (Amos 
1:2). The God of Israel will come to judgment. Amos 
makes his appeal to conscience and reason. 

Taking his stand at Bethel, perhaps on a feast day, 
Amos begins by announcing the overthrow of Israel's 
neighbors on account of their crimes. The heathen na- 
tions are to be punished for cruelty or inhumanity in some 
form. God holds them to a strict account for doing what 
they knew to be wrong. Judah and Israel He judges by 
a higher standard ; for they had the Law of Moses and 
the teaching of the prophets to guide them in their moral 
and social life. The prophet arraigns Israel for covetous- 
ness, injustice, lasciviousness, and sacrilege ; also for hav- 
ing forgotten Jehovah's kindness, and for having rejected 
His messengers (Amos 1, 2). 

126. THREE DISCOURSES ON ISRAEL'S SINS 

Three discourses on Israel's wickedness form the core 
of the Book of Amos. He announces the certain and 
terrible chastisements that are about to come upon the 
sinful nation. 

(1) Jehovah brought Israel — both Ephraim and Judah 
— out of the land of Egypt, thus showing them favor 
above all the peoples of the world. Would He hold them 
accountable for their sins, or would they be excused as 
the favorites of Jehovah? "You only have I known of 
all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon 
you all your iniquities" (Amos 3:2). Privilege brings 
corresponding responsibility. Amos cannot refrain from 



154 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

prophesying, because he has heard in his soul the roar of 
Jehovah's righteous wrath against Israel (Amos 3:3-8). 
On account of violence and robbery, the rich and luxuri- 
ous shall perish, and the idol altars and ivory palaces shall 
be destroyed (Amos 3:9-15). 

(2) Amos addresses the carousing and heathen women 
as "cows of Bashan" (Amos 4:1-3). With biting sar- 
casm, he invites the people to continue their sacrifices 
before the altars of Bethel and Gilgal (4:4, 5). Jehovah 
has sent chastisement after chastisement to turn Israel 
away from sin, but all in vain. Therefore let Israel get 
ready for a severer contest (4:6-13). 

(3) The prophet's heart softens as he faces Israel's 
sad future. He pleads earnestly with Israel to seek Je- 
hovah and live. Bribery and injustice are visible on 
every side ; but Amos pleads for a radical change of 
heart in Israel: "Hate the evil, and love the good, and 
establish justice in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the 
God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of 
Joseph." Moral reformation, if deep enough and thor- 
ough enough, may avert exile (5:1-15). Amos pro- 
nounces a woe upon the hypocrites who are wishing for 
the Day of Jehovah: it can bring nothing but greater 
distress to a people sunk in idolatry and injustice. The 
prophet gives expression to one of the noblest appeals 
ever uttered by a reformer: "But let justice roll down 
as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream" 
(5:16-27). A further woe is pronounced against the 
luxurious oppressors who feel secure. Judgment will 
overtake them; for Jehovah is going to send against 
Israel a nation that shall afflict them in all their borders 
(Amos 6). Amos evidently refers to Assyria, which 
first came into hostile contact with Israel under Ahab at 
the battle of Karkar in 854 B.C. Jehu paid tribute to 
Assyria in 842 B.C. During the greater part of the reign 
of Jeroboam II., Assyria was weak ; but in 746 B.C. a 
great general came to the throne, and Assyria went forth 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 155 

to conquer the world. Amos foretells the coming in- 
vasion. 



127. FIVE VISIONS AND A STIRRING ENCOUNTER 

The last three chapters of the Book of Amos relate five 
visions concerning Israel. (1) The prophet sees locusts 
eating up the land: he intercedes for Israel, and the 
scourge is not allowed to come in. (2) When fire threat- 
ens to burn up the land, Amos again prays for Jacob, 
and God withholds the threatened visitation (Amos 
7: 1-6). (3) Amos sees a plumbline in Jehovah's hand, 
and is told that judgment must come upon Israel : the 
idol altars shall be desolate, and Jehovah will "rise against 
the house of Jeroboam with the sword" (7: 7-9). 

This last sentence gave the priest of Bethel the open- 
ing he had been seeking^for. He longed to be rid of Amos 
and his stern preaching, and this reference to the king 
seemed to give him a weapon with which to run Amos 
out of the country. He sends a messenger to Jeroboam 
to inform him that Amos has conspired against him. 
Meantime the priest urges Amos to seek a living in Judah. 
He wishes Amos to know that he is not popular in 
Israel, and that a rustic prophet is out of place in the 
cultivated community at Bethel (7:10-13). Amos an- 
swers with heat that he is no professional prophet, but 
a man with a call direct from Jehovah (7: 14-17). God 
reserves the right to choose His messengers, and He 
sometimes takes men from humble callings. A "conse- 
crated cobbler" became the great leader in the modern 
missionary movement. 

(4) Amos beheld in vision a basket of summer fruit. 
Iniquity was ripe for punishment (Amos 8). (5) Finally 
the prophet saw Jehovah preparing to destroy the sanc- 
tuary at Bethel and to punish the idolaters. But Jehovah 
would preserve every kernel, while sifting out the chaff 
(9:1-10). 



156 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

The book closes with a prediction of better days for 
Israel and the house of David (9: 11-15). 

128. HOSEA THE PROPHET OF TJIE BROKEN HEART 

Hosea began to prophesy toward the close of the reign 
of Jeroboam II. The Indian summer of Israel's history 
was fast passing over into the winter of their discontent. 
After Jeroboam came a period of anarchy and confusion. 
Zechariah was slain after a reign of six months; Shallum 
after only one month. A dozen years later Tekahiah was 
assassinated by Pekah, who afterwards met the same fate 
at the hands of Hoshea, the last king of Ephraim. All 
these were ungodly rulers, the morals of the nation sink- 
ing to the lowest ebb. The language of the prophet is 
influenced by the confusion about him in the nation and 
in his own home. He writes in broken sentences, be- 
cause his heart is broken. Sin is everywhere. "There 
is nought but swearing and breaking faith, and killing, 
and stealing, and committing adultery; they break out, 
and blood toucheth blood" (Hosea 4:2). 

Of all the views concerning the marriage of Hosea, that 
advocated by Kirkpatrick and others seems to be the 
best. Hosea was directed to marry a woman given to 
idolatry — an idolatry which was often associated with 
licentiousness, although his bride was not an actually 
unchaste woman at first, but only a spiritual adulteress. 
She bore to the prophet three children, to whom sym- 
bolical names were given. Later on idolatry brought 
forth its natural fruitage, and Hosea's wife became an 
actual adulteress. Whether she then deserted Hosea, or 
whether he divorced her, we are not told. Now Hosea 
could understand why Jehovah was grieved with unfaith- 
ful Israel to the point of casting her off. The unspeak- 
able love and compassion of God for His unfaithful 
spouse prepared Hosea in some measure to obey the 
divine command to recover his own unfaithful wife and 



THE EARLY KINGS AND PROPHETS 157 

restore her to his home. Hosea's bitter domestic sorrow 
became an object lesson for himself and his people. His 
heart was almost broken by shame and grief, but he was 
thereby fitted to portray the heinousness of apostasy, on 
the one hand, and, on the other, Jehovah's tenderness and 
compassion toward His unfaithful people. 

129. HOSEA REVEALS THE HEART OF GOD 

Hosea expresses the divine jealousy as no other prophet 
could express it. He pictures Jehovah as a moth consum- 
ing Ephraim. He piles up figures to set forth the fierce- 
ness of His jealousy: "Therefore am I unto them as a 
lion; as a leopard will I watch by the way; I will meet 
them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will 
rend the caul of their heart ; and there will I devour them 
like a lioness; the wild beast shall tear them" (Hosea 
13:7,8). 

Are we sorry that Jehovah is jealous? What does jeal- 
ousy imply? Out of what does it grow? Is it not love 
that prompts to jealousy? Can one be jealous without 
loving? Let us rejoice that God is jealous, when we for- 
sake Him in our hearts to go off after any sort of idol. 

Jehovah's deep love for Israel finds a voice in Hosea 
11:8,9: "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall 
I cast thee off, Israel ? how shall I make thee as Admah ? 
how shall I set thee as Zeboim? My heart is turned 
within Me, My compassions are kindled together. I will 
not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I will not re- 
turn to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; 
the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not come 
in wrath." 

Our Lord Jesus quotes Hosea 6 : 6, one of the greatest 
verses in the book : "For I desire goodness, and not sac- 
rifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt- 
offerings." 

The closing chapter of the book is truly beautiful. The 



158 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

superiority of Jehovah over all the gods of the heathen 
lies chiefly in His goodness and mercy (Hosea 14:3). 
The love and free grace of Jehovah are beautifully set 
forth in 14 : 4-8. The strength and beauty and fragrance 
of piety are illustrated in the people on whom Jehovah 
descends as the dew. 



Chapter X 

THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 

130. uzziah 's prosperous reign 

UZZIAH'S reign in Judah was perhaps the most pros- 
perous since Solomon's. In the year that this strong 
king died, Isaiah received his call to be a prophet. The 
country had enjoyed an era of agricultural and commer- 
cial development under Uzziah. Tribute flowed in from 
the Ammonites, and the avenue of trade through the Red 
Sea was open, as in the days of Solomon. The country 
was at peace with its neighbors. Wealth increased in the 
hands of the nobility and other landowners. Luxury, 
with its attendant train of evils, entered Jerusalem. There 
was sore need of a prophet to call the people to repen- 
tance and reformation. 

131. isaiah's vision and call 

A young man of rare culture found himself caught 
up in vision into the heavenly temple. "In the year that 
king Uzziah died," he writes, "I saw the Lord sitting 
upon a throne, high and lifted up, the skirts of His train 
filling the temple. Above Him were standing the sera- 
phim, each one having six wings ; with two he was accus- 
tomed to cover his face, and with two he would cover 
his feet, and with two he would fly. And one kept call- 
ing to another, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of 
hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the 
foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him 
that cried, and the house was rilling with smoke. Then 
said I, Woe is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a man 
159 



160 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of 
unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah 
of hosts." 

It was commonly believed in Israel that a vision of 
Jehovah meant death to a sinner. The vivid narrative 
continues: "Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, 
having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with 
the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth 
with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and 
thine iniquity shall depart, and thy sin shall be covered. 
And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall 
I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here 
am I ; send me." 

It was not presumption on the part of the prophet to 
tender his services in the spirit of a volunteer; for he 
could not doubt that he had been brought into the pres- 
ence of the King for this very purpose. Had he known 
how hard and discouraging his work would be, he might 
have hesitated to volunteer. Now follows his commis- 
sion: "And He said, Go, and tell this people, Keep on 
hearing, but perceive not ; keep on seeing, but understand 
not. Make fat the heart of this people, and make their 
ears heavy, and shut (smear over) their eyes; lest they 
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and perceive 
with their heart, and turn again, and get healed." 

We can well understand how the young prophet would 
be distressed at such a dismal prospect, and would wish 
to know whether light would yet break out of the dark- 
ness. "Then said I, Lord, how long? And He answered, 
Lentil cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses with- 
out man, and the land become utterly waste, and Jehovah 
have removed man far away, and the forsaken places be 
many in the midst of the land. And if there be yet a 
tenth in it, it also shall in turn be consumed: as a tere- 
binth, and as an oak, whose stock (stump) remaineth, 
when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock 
thereof." A small remnant shall be saved out of the over- 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 161 

throw. The preservation of this pious remnant becomes 
a characteristic doctrine in Isaiah. 

132. ISAIAH S EARLY MINISTRY 

There was work for the young prophet to do while 
his country was yet prosperous and secure. He de- 
nounced the sins that were rife in Jerusalem. Isaiah 
was almost certainly brought up and educated in the 
capital city of Judah, and all his thoughts center in her. 
How he loved Jerusalem and longed to see her the joy 
of the whole earth! He has done more than any other 
prophet to paint the contrast between the actual Jeru- 
salem and the ideal. His words have done much to make 
Zion the religious capital of the world, the city that pious 
souls see in their dreams, the type of the heavenly city, 
the New Jerusalem that is to come down from God out 
of heaven. 

Chapters 2 to 4 perhaps were spoken during the pros- 
perous reign of Jotham, about 738 B.C. First comes a 
splendid picture of Zion exalted at the head of the world's 
mountains, the rallying point of all nations, where Jeho- 
vah teaches men His law and decides all controversies. 
War, that dreadful scourge of nations, disappears forever 
(Isa. 2:2-4). This beautiful prophecy of Zion's ulti- 
mate glory is also found in Micah 4:1-3. The great 
prophet of the city and his contemporary from the coun- 
try town of Moresheth-gath unite in picturing the glori- 
ous Zion of the future. 

But the actual Jerusalem stands in striking contrast 
with Jehovah's thought for her. The land is full of 
soothsayers, of the idle rich, of rattling chariots, and, 
what is worse than all, idols abound. Jehovah must 
come to judgment with His sinful people. He will de- 
stroy the things that minister to pride, and will give the 
land up to anarchy and ruin. The grasping rulers and 
the dress-loving women shall be severely punished. The 



162 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

prophet dumps the finery of the fashionable woman of 
the time all in a heap before our eyes (Isa. 2: 5 to 4: 1). 

He closes with a picture of the chastened and purified 
Jerusalem of the future enjoying the protecting presence 
of Jehovah, as did Israel in the march through the wilder- 
ness to Canaan (4: 2-6). 

Perhaps chapter 5 belongs to this same period of pros- 
perity, before the weakling Ahaz came to the throne. 
The prophet wins a hearing by proposing to sing a song 
concerning a vineyard. He describes a disappointing 
vineyard, and then suddenly identifies it with Israel and 
Judah (Isa. 5:1-7). 

The prophet proceeds to pronounce a series of woes on 
six different classes of sinners. He first arraigns the 
land sharks. Monopoly will overreach itself and lead to 
desolation (5:8-10). Drunken revelers are next at- 
tacked. The drink problem confronted Isaiah, as it has 
faced earnest patriots in all ages. Crass ignorance, which 
always accompanies intemperance, is pushing Israel into 
captivity (5:1 1-17) . Woe to defiant, sinful unbelievers 
(5:18,19)! Woe to the perverters of moral distinc- 
tions, who try to erase the line separating right and 
wrong (5:20) ! A woe is next pronounced on the con- 
ceited politicians (5:21). The concluding woe is aimed 
at the drunken, corrupt judges (5 : 22, 23). 

The address closes with a vivid description of the com- 
ing of a fierce invading army (5:24-30). 

Such pungent preaching ought to have awakened the 
rulers and the people of Judah to the dangers gathering 
like storm clouds over the land ; but men were too intent 
on business or pleasure to heed the brilliant prophet's 
warnings. 

133. ISAIAH FACES A CRISIS 

Jotham, who had been regent for several years before 
the death of his father Uzziah, had only a brief separate 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 163 

reign. He was succeeded by the weak Ahaz, who was 
completely under the influence of the heathen party at 
court. He plunged into idolatry in its coarsest and most 
cruel forms (2 Chron. 28 : 1-4) . During the early part 
of the reign of Ahaz war broke out between Judah and 
the allied kings of Syria and Israel. It would seem that 
Rezin and Pekah wished to form an alliance of all the 
kings in Syria and Palestine against the Assyrians, who 
were becoming more and more aggressive under the mili- 
tary genius Tiglath-pileser III. (745 to 727 B.C.). When 
Ahaz refused to join the league, Rezin and Pekah re- 
solved to dethrone him and put one of their own tools 
on the throne of Judah. Isaiah pictures the consterna- 
tion in Judah when the news came that Syria and Israel 
were about to attack Jerusalem (Isa. 7:1, 2). What 
could Ahaz do to stem the tide of invasion? Would it 
not be wise to ask the Assyrians for aid in this crisis? 
The more the politicians at court discussed the matter 
in secret council, the more the plan of inviting aid from 
Tiglath-pileser commended itself to them as a politic 
stroke. Isaiah thought otherwise. He foresaw that the 
Assyrians would fasten the yoke on Judah, as well as 
on Syria and Israel. 

The war at first went greatly in favor of the allied 
kings. The army of Judah suffered serious defeat in 
the field (2 Chron. 28:5-15). Jerusalem resisted attack 
successfully; but the enemy would probably return to 
besiege her. Hence Ahab sent messengers to Tiglath- 
pileser with a large present of money to obtain his aid. 
Nothing could please the Assyrian conqueror more than 
to hear that the petty kings of Syria had fallen out 
among themselves, and that one of them wished his help 
against the others. He promptly set his forces in motion 
against Rezin and Pekah. 

Isaiah sought an interview with Ahaz, as the king was 
outside the city looking after his water supply in the 
event of a siege. The prophet tried to encourage the king 



164 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

to be quiet and fear not on account of the schemes of 
the two petty kings on his northern border. He warned 
Ahaz against unbelief (Isa. 7:3-9). In a second inter- 
view Isaiah offers Ahaz a sign to strengthen his faith; 
but the king, in mock piety, declines to tempt Jehovah by 
asking a sign. Jehovah's messenger loses all patience with 
the unbelieving trickster, and announces the birth of Im- 
manuel. The Assyrians, whom Ahaz has recently invited 
into the land, will shave Judah clean from top to toe 
(7:10-25). 

Perhaps the first chapter in the roll of Isaiah belongs 
to this first political crisis in Isaiah's ministry. Judah 
had been overrun and devastated by the forces of Rezin 
and Pekah. Jerusalem itself was in a state of siege. 
The moral condition of the city was deplorable. The 
princes and judges took bribes and consorted with thieves. 
This chapter has been well called by Ewald "the great 
arraignment." The prophet first rebukes the nation for 
its ingratitude, folly, and stubborn rebellion (1 : 2-9). He 
then shows that observance of the Mosaic ritual is no 
substitute for right living. Formal and heartless wor- 
ship is an abomination to Jehovah; but repentance and 
obedience will bring forgiveness and safety (1:10-20). 
He closes, after a contrast between Jerusalem's former 
purity and present corruption, with a prediction that the 
city shall be thoroughly purged by the destruction of 
transgressors, a holy remnant being left (1 : 21-31). The 
picture of the strong sinner as tow and his own work as 
the spark to set him on fire is very suggestive. Sin is a 
fire. As long as sin rules in a man he is a son of hell 
and will be aflame from his own deeds. 

The Syrian crisis passed. At first it seemed that the 
policy adopted by Ahaz in calling in the Assyrians might 
be justified by the outcome. The Syrians and Ephraim- 
ites withdrew from Judah to look after their own coun- 
tries, which were overrun by the fierce Assyrian soldiers. 
But soon it became evident to all that Tiglath-pileser 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 165 

would demand an annual tribute from Judah, as well as 
from Syria and Ephraim. From the beginning Isaiah had 
looked upon the Assyrians, not as allies and friends, but 
as a menace to the very life of the kingdom of Jehovah 
as represented by the people of Judah. During the nearly 
forty years in which he continued to prophesy in Jeru- 
salem the Assyrian was constantly in his thoughts. 

134. JEHOVAH AND ASSYRIA 

When the Assyrian River overflowed its banks and 
swept onward into Judah, reaching to the neck, Isaiah 
heartened himself by presenting the danger to Immanuel, 
the divine owner of the land. He who bore that noble 
name — "God with us" — would be a defense against all 
foes. Let Judah fear to sin against Jehovah, who dwells 
in Mount Zion. Those who turn to wizards and necro- 
mancers will only go on into blacker darkness of despair 
(Isa. 8). 

Isaiah soon saw that Jehovah was using the Assyrian 
as a rod with which to chastise Israel and Judah. But 
the proud Assyrian took quite a different view of the 
situation. To him Jehovah was only the god of a small 
nation, and not to be compared with Asshur and Ishtar, 
whom the Assyrians worshiped. The Assyrian king never 
dreamed that he was merely an instrument in the hands 
of Jehovah. Isaiah claimed him as such from his first 
entrance into Judah. Soon the prophet began to an- 
nounce the ultimate overthrow of the Assyrian in the 
Holy Land. This message he repeated many times. Per- 
haps the skeptics mocked as the years went by, and the 
Assyrians still lorded it over Judah and all the other 
peoples in Syria and Palestine. But Isaiah kept on pre- 
dicting that Jehovah would tread the Assyrian under foot 
on His mountains (Isa. 10:12, 15-19, 24-27, 33, 34; 
14:24-27; 17:12-14; 29:5-8; 30:27-33; 31:8,9; 
33:1-12; 37:29). He makes it plain that the blow is 



166 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

to be a supernatural stroke, and not a victory achieved by 
man : "And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of 
man ; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him." 



135. ISAIAH AND SENNACHERIB 

In 701 B.C. Sennacherib invaded Judah at the head of 
an immense army of trained soldiers. Forty-six fortified 
cities fell before the battering-rams of the besiegers. 
More than two hundred thousand persons were swept 
away into exile. Hezekiah was shut up like a bird in a 
cage in Jerusalem. The proud Assyrian was sweeping 
all before him. He sent a part of his army, under Rab- 
shakeh, to demand the keys of the capital city. He ridi- 
culed the idea that Jehovah would deliver Jerusalem out 
of his hands. When Rabshakeh's mission failed, Senna- 
cherib wrote a letter to Hezekiah, warning him that no 
gods had ever delivered their lands out of his hands. 
How, then, could Jehovah save Jerusalem from his grasp? 

In this crisis all eyes are turned toward Isaiah. Heze- 
kiah asks him to pray for the remnant left in the land. 
Isaiah predicts that Sennacherib shall leave Judah and 
return to his own land. Jehovah is God of all the earth, 
though the Assyrian knows it not. Through Isaiah He 
replies to the challenge of the Assyrian : "Because of thy 
raging against Me, and because thine arrogancy is come 
up into Mine ears, therefore will I put My hook in thy 
nose, and My bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back 
by the way which thou earnest" (Isa. 37:29). 

Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia and Egypt, tried in vain 
to drive Sennacherib out of Judah. The Assyrians were 
preparing to close in upon Jerusalem and capture it, when 
a sudden disaster of supernatural proportions overtook 
them. In one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand 
soldiers perished (Isa. 37:36-38). Isaiah's prophetic 
foresight was at last vindicated. For the few remaining 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 167 

years of Hezekiah's reign he was perhaps greatly hon- 
ored by both king and people. 

136. hezekiah's good reign 

Hezekiah reversed the religious policy of his father 
Ahaz, and at the very beginning of his reign cleansed the 
temple and made provision for the worship of Jehovah 
according to the Law of Moses. He decided to keep the 
Passover in the second month, as the temple was not 
ready in time to celebrate it in the first month. He also 
encouraged many to take part in the feast who had not 
made the proper preparation for doing so. The pious 
king prayed Jehovah to overlook the irregularity and to 
accept the worshipers. He also made provision for the 
support of the priests and Levites. "And in every work 
that he began in the service of the house of God, and in 
the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he 
did it with all his heart, and prospered" (2 Chron. 29 
to 31). 

Hezekiah was perplexed by the political questions that 
confronted him. Some of his courtiers favored an al- 
liance with Egypt against Assyria. They hoped in this 
way to escape the heavy annual tribute demanded by the 
Assyrian king. Isaiah opposed this policy with great 
earnestness. He estimated Egypt and Ethiopia at their 
real strength, and foretold that the Assyrian would con- 
quer them. The folly of trusting in Egypt and Ethiopia 
is the theme of several discourses (Isa. 18 to 20; 30: 1-7; 
31 : 1-3). Hezekiah was finally won over by the Egyp- 
tian party to rebel against the Assyrians, relying upon 
Egypt for help. We have already seen that he was 
brought low, and but for the sword of Jehovah, which 
destroyed the greater part of Sennacherib's army, Heze- 
kiah would have been captured and all his people swept 
into exile. Isaiah, the inspired statesman, was shown to 



168 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

be wiser than the politicians who insisted on an alliance 
with Egypt. 

137. THE MESSIANIC KING 

To speak of Isaiah and omit his prophecies of the Mes- 
siah would be to leave out the heart of his message. 
Already in the days of Ahaz he predicted the birth of a 
son who should bear the great name Immanuel — "God 
with us" (Isa. 7:14-16). Taken alone, this prophecy 
is very much of an enigma ; and so the commentators 
have a good time speculating on its meaning. We can 
understand it better in connection with the other Mes- 
sianic prophecies in Isaiah. In 8:8 Isaiah suddenly ad- 
dresses Immanuel as the owner and protector of Judah. 
We might even yet think that we were dealing with a 
purely imaginary character; but Isaiah 9:1-7 and 
11 : 1-10 make it plain that Isaiah expected a great De- 
liverer to sit on the throne of David. His name shows 
that He is more than a mere man. The best grouping 
makes the name fourfold — "Wonderful Counselor, 
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." The 
Prince bearing this great name is to sit on the throne of 
David. 

Isaiah 11:1-10 adds to the picture several important 
touches. The Messianic King is to spring from the stock 
of Jesse. The Spirit of Jehovah will equip Him for His 
work. He administers justice with supernatural skill. 
His reign will introduce the era of perfect peace, all de- 
structive activity ceasing in the entire animal creation. 
Moreover, the Gentiles will come to the Messiah. For 
additional glimpses of the Messianic King see Isaiah 
16:5; 32:1-5. 

138. ISAIAH AND THE EXILE 

In the midst of Isaiah's ministry Samaria fell into 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 169 

the hands of the Assyrian, and her people were carried 
away to the Far East. The idea of an exile was often in 
the prophet's mind. It was a present reality for Israel, 
and he often asked himself whether Judah would not also 
be swept away before the invaders. Sennacherib claims 
to have carried into exile over two hundred thousand of 
the people of Judah. But Isaiah was sure that Assyria 
would not swallow up Judah. Jehovah would crush the 
Assyrian with miraculous power. 

Isaiah predicted that Babylon would carry the Judeans 
into captivity (Isa. 39). Micah also named Babylon as 
the scene of the exile of Judah (Micah 4:9, 10). For 
additional references to captivity, see Isaiah 6:11-13; 
5:13. 

Does Isaiah foretell the return from exile? If he is 
the author of all parts of the roll bearing his name, as 
was almost universally believed until 1780 A.D., he cer- 
tainly predicted the return many times and in striking 
sentences. Recent radical criticism finds at least three 
main authors in the roll of Isaiah, and possibly a goodly 
number of editors. Here again subjective criticism must 
be checked by common sense. Of course, only one believ- 
ing in supernatural revelation can accept the great proph- 
ecy in Isaiah 40 to 66 as coming from a prophet of the 
eighth century B.C. How could Isaiah describe the ca- 
reer of a king born more than a century after his own 
death ? Many noble Christian scholars have accepted the 
view that the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah are the 
work of a prophet of the Exile contemporary with Cyrus 
the Great (550 to 529 B.C.). Canon Driver and Dr. 
George Adam Smith have argued with great skill and 
earnestness for the correctness of this view. Still, the 
argument is by no means all one way. We prefer to treat 
the roll of Isaiah as a unity. In almost all the sections 
transferred by the divisive critics to the sixth century or 
later there are predictions of a return from the Exile 
(Isa. 14:1,2; 27:12,13; 35:10; 44:24-28; 45:13; 



170 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

48 : 20, 21 ; 49 : 8-26 ; 51 : 3, 11, 14; 52 : 7-12, etc.). Micah, 
Isaiah's contemporary, also predicted the return from cap- 
tivity (Micah 4:6-10; 7:11-13). 

139. THE BOOK OF COMFORT 

There is a shorter book of comfort in Isaiah 24 to 27. 
In it are found some of the most beautiful passages in 
the roll of Isaiah. What could be more beautiful and 
touching than the picture of the feast spread by Jehovah 
in Mount Zion for all the peoples of the earth? "And 
He will destroy in this mountain the face of the cover- 
ing that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread 
over all nations. He hath swallowed up death forever; 
and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all 
faces" (Isa. 25:6-8). The grace and tenderness of God 
are here in perfection. Chapter 26 not only contains the 
promise of the resurrection of dead Israel, but also an 
assurance that has guided many into the way of peace: 
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose imagination 
is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee" (26: 3). 

But Isaiah 40 to 66 is justly entitled "The Eook of 
Comfort;" for the saints for more than two thousand 
years have bound up their broken hearts with its com- 
forting promises. It is full of descriptions of God's 
character and of His plans for His distressed people. 
We are in sight of God or the Suffering Servant or the 
Holy Spirit all the way through. God tells of the good 
things He means to do for His people. There is no 
better way of comforting the saints than to fill their minds 
and hearts with the sense of God's power and wisdom 
and goodness and free grace. A vision of the Servant of 
Jehovah suffering instead of the sinner also melts the 
heart to tears of gratitude. And when the Spirit draws 
the veil from the future and lets the believer see some of 
the glories that await him, this, too, strengthens the heart 
to bear present trials and afflictions. 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 171 

140. THE PROPHET'S TEACHING CONCERNING GOD 

Who ever described the might and the tenderness of 
God as they are pictured in Isaiah 40 : 10, 11 ? The figure 
of the conquering king is quickly followed by that of 
the good shepherd. What theologian ever impressed on 
the mind of man the power and wisdom of God as the 
prophet does in 40: 12-31? Such a Personality cannot 
forget His people in their distress. They shall have 
strength for all their duties — their commonplace tasks as 
well as their more notable achievements (Isa. 40:31). 

No other writer surpasses Isaiah in persuasive appeal 
to a higher faith. Take a few out of many examples: 
"Thou art My servant; I have chosen thee and not cast 
thee away; fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not 
dismayed, for I am thy God ; I will strengthen thee ; yea, 
I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right 
hand of My righteousness" (41:9,10). "Fear not, for 
I have redeemed thee ; I have called thee by thy name ; 
thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters 
I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall 
not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, 
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle 
upon thee" (43:2). "Remember these things, O Jacob, 
and Israel; for thou art My servant: I have formed 
thee; thou art My servant: O Israel, thou shalt not 
be forgotten of Me. I have blotted out, as a thick 
cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: re- 
turn unto Me; for I have redeemed thee" (44:21,22). 

Here are many precious and exceeding great promises : 
"And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will 
answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear" 
(65 : 24) . "As one whom his mother comf orteth, so will 
I comfort you ; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem" 
(66:13). 

The merciful and loving God is seen in all the wealth 
of His sympathy : "In all their affliction He was afflicted, 



172 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

and the Angel of His presence saved them : in His love 
and in His pity He redeemed them ; and He bare them, 
and carried them all the days of old" (63 : 9). 

141. THE PROPHET'S PICTURE OF THE SUFFERING SERVANT 

In Isaiah 40 to 55 the word servant is a keyword. 
Jehovah calls Israel His servant. Evidently the word 
servant in the singular throughout these chapters refers 
to Israel in some sense. But who and what is Israel? Is 
it always a collective, referring to a body of people ? Or 
may it also refer to a single individual identified with 
Israel as its head? Delitzsch employs the figure of a 
pyramid to illustrate the uses of the word servant in these 
chapters. At the base is Israel in its totality as a nation 
— good, bad, and indifferent ; higher up is a better Israel 
— the prophets and other spiritual men; at the apex is 
One, the Second Israel, as He was the Second Adam and 
the Second David, Himself an Israelite, and achieving the 
work that the nation as a whole failed to perform. 

Isaiah 42 : 1-12 and 49 : 1-13 describe the Servant's call, 
His gentleness and perseverance, and His twofold mis- 
sion to Jew and Gentile. In Isaiah 50:4-11 the patience 
and endurance of the Servant under persecution are em- 
phasized. The greatest chapter in the Old Testament is 
Isaiah 53. The chapter division is here unfortunate ; for 
the great picture of the Suffering Servant includes Isaiah 
52: 13 to 53: 12, a section of fifteen verses, which fall 
into five paragraphs of three verses each. The section 
has the symmetry of a poem. This is the highest peak 
of Old Testament revelation. We might properly give it 
the title of this Manual, and call it "The Heart of the 
Old Testament." Read it in the American Standard Re- 
vision, and note the following outline : 

a. Astounding contrast between the humiliation and 
the supreme exaltation of the Servant of Jehovah 
(52:13-15). 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 173 

b. "Rejected of men" (53:1-3). He came unto His 
own, and they received Him not. 

c. The Servant's sufferings are vicarious (53:4-6). 
He takes the place of the guilty and dies in their stead. 
The doctrine of substitutionary suffering is taught over 
and over again in these verses. Is there a greater verse 
in the Old Testament than Isaiah 53 : 5 ? It is the Old 
Testament equivalent of John 3 : 16. Let its words ring 
in our souls forever : "But He was wounded for our 
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the 
chastisement of our peace was upon Him ; and with His 
stripes we are healed." We may translate the first half 
of the verse more literally : "But He was pierced through 
(mortally wounded) for our transgressions, He was 
crushed for our iniquities." 

d. The Servant, innocent as a lamb, goes to death 
without resistance (53:7-9). Pilate marveled at the 
silence of Jesus. 

e. The Servant's death, far from being an accident, 
was in Jehovah's plan for human redemption. The Serv- 
ant will be satisfied with the results of His travail 
(53:10-12). 

The New Testament application of this great prophecy 
to Jesus is not an accommodation of words originally 
spoken of Israel as a nation, but a recognition of the 
fact that the prophet painted in advance a portrait of 
which Jesus Christ is the original. 

142. the prophet's teaching as to the future of 
god's kingdom 

From Isaiah 2 : 2-4 we learn that the world is to get its 
religion from Zion. In Isaiah 19 : 24, 25, is a prediction 
that the world empires will one day unite with Israel in 
the worship of Jehovah. The God of Israel admits the 
great heathen nations to fellowship with His people and 
with Himself. He will make a feast for all nations on 



174 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Mount Zion and wipe tears from off all faces (Isa. 
25:6-8). Zion will ba greatly enlarged as a result of 
the Servant's sufferings (chapter 54). She will yet shine 
resplendent, and be the center of the world's worship 
(chapters 60, 62). The most distant future will reveal 
the safety and the glory of Zion (65: 17-25; 66: 10-14). 

143. THE MINISTRY OF MICAH 

Micah was contemporary with Isaiah, and is worthy 
to be associated with that wonderful genius. He is vig- 
orous and fearless in denunciation of wrong, and clear 
and forceful in his doctrinal teaching, and tender and 
persuasive in appeal. He reveals the source of his fear- 
less denunciation of wrong, when he says: "But as for 
me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of 
judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his trans- 
gression, and to Israel his sin" (Micah 3:8). He arraigns 
the political and religious rulers as the leaders in sin: 
"Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, 
and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and 
pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and 
Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for 
reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the 
prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon 
Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no 
evil shall come upon us." Was there ever a more pungent 
indictment of a nation's ruling classes? What must be 
the outcome of such conduct? "Therefore shall Zion 
for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall 
become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high 
places of a forest" (Micah 3:9-12). 

The prophet's burning words went home to the con- 
science, and Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah for forgiveness 
(Jer. 26: 17-19). 

It was Micah who foretold that the great Ruler of the 
future would come out of little Bethlehem (Micah 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PROPHECY 175 

5:2-6). He describes the future glory of the pious 
remnant of Jacob under the figure of the refreshing dew 
and of the mighty lion (5:7-9). 

Micah's greatest contribution to the religious thought 
and life of the world is his admirable summary of Jeho- 
vah's requirements (Micah 6:6-8). He asks not for 
sacrifices nor gifts. "He hath showed thee, O man, what 
is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to 
do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with 
thy God?" 



Chapter XI 

DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 

WITH the passing of Isaiah and Micah and Hezekiah, 
three great and good men whose deaths were not 
far apart, Judah fell upon evil times. Even with these 
great men to guide her affairs, Judah had suffered seri- 
ously from the Assyrian invasion under Sennacherib. 
Jhe country was impoverished, and many of the inhabi- 
tants swept into exile. 

144. manasseh's long and wicked reign 

Hezekiah was succeeded in 698 B.C. by his son Man- 
asseh, a boy of twelve years. The heathen party at once 
assumed control. The historian says of Manasseh : "And 
he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts 
of the house of Jehovah. He also made his children to 
pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom ; 
and he practiced augury, and dealt with them that had 
familiar spirits, and with wizards : he wrought much evil 
in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger." "And 
Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem, so that they did evil more than did the nations 
whom Jehovah destroyed before the children of Israel" 
(2 Chron. 33:1-9). 

The God of Israel sent prophets to warn Manasseh; 
but he gave no heed. According to a Jewish tradition, 
the prophet Isaiah was sawn asunder by his order. Per- 
haps this tradition is untrustworthy; but it is an evi- 
dence of the evil name left in Judah by the cruel king. 
The author of 2 Kings adds to his indictment of this 
176 



DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 177 

wicked man, "Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood 
very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to 
another" (2 Kings 21:16). 

Manasseh's reign really decided the fate of Judah. He 
made it well-nigh impossible for a good king like Josiah 
or a great prophet like Jeremiah to wean the people from 
idolatry and heathen immorality. "And Jehovah spake 
by His servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh 
king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath 
done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, that were 
before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his 
idols; therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, 
Behold, I bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that 
whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle" (2 
Kings 21:10-15). Captivity became inevitable through 
Manasseh's long and wicked reign. 

When Manasseh was bound by the Assyrians and taken 
in fetters to Babylon, he repented and prayed God for 
forgiveness. He was restored to his land, and there tried 
to undo the work of his previous life. He was only par- 
tially successful (2 Chron. 33:10-20). 

Amon imitated his father's wicked practices during his 
brief reign (2 Chron. 33:21-25). 

145. josiah's good reign 

Josiah was the last good king of Judah. He came to 
the throne as a boy of eight. In the eighth year of his 
reign he began to seek after Jehovah, and in the twelfth 
year he began to break down the images of Baal and 
Astarte. In the eighteenth year of his reign (623 B.C.) 
Josiah repaired the temple. Hilkiah the high priest found 
in the temple a copy of the book of the law, which he 
delivered to Shaphan the scribe, who read it and then 
brought it to the attention of king Josiah. As soon as 
the book was read before the pious king, he rent his gar- 
ments as a sign of his grief and fear, and sent messengers 



178 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

to inquire of Jehovah what he should do (2 Kings 
22:1-13). The messengers inquired of Huldah the 
prophetess, who informed them that the threats of the 
book of the law would be fulfilled. Because of Josiah's 
humility and penitence, the evil should not come in his 
days (2 Kings 22: 14-20). 

Josiah assembled his people to hear the words of the 
newly-found book of the covenant, and led them to 
promise to stand to the covenant. He then went forth 
to destroy idol images in Jerusalem and throughout his 
realm. With iconoclastic zeal he broke in pieces all the 
pillars, and cut down the wooden images of Astarte, and 
defiled with dead men's bones the places of idol worship. 
He showed no mercy to idolatry and superstition, but 
smote them hip and thigh (2 Kings 23:1-25). So far 
as the king could elevate the moral and religious life of 
his people he did so. During the latter part of Josiah's 
reign there was outward conformity to the law of Jeho- 
vah ; but the hearts of the people were largely set on 
idols, and they were only waiting for a change of kings 
to plunge once again into heathen license. It was a sad 
day for Jeremiah and the spiritual element in Judah, when 
Josiah was brought home from Megiddo dead in his 
chariot (2 Chron. 35:20-27). 

146. NAHUM ANNOUNCES THE FALL OF NINEVEH 

The prophecy of Nahum has for its theme the ap- 
proaching capture and sack of the cruel capital of the 
Assyrian empire. The character of Jehovah is the foun- 
dation on which Nahum builds: "Jdiovah i s a jealous 
God and avengeth ; Jehovah avengeth and is full of 
wrath ; Jehovah taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and 
He reserveth wrath for His enemies" (Nah. 1:2). The 
side of retributive righteousness is turned toward the 
cruel oppressor. "J e ^ ova ^ 1S good, a stronghold in the 
day of trouble ; and He knoweth them that take refuge in 



DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 179 

Him" (Nah. 1:7). All who turn to Jehovah for help 
find Him good and kind. 

The second chapter of Nahum is a vivid picture of the 
siege and capture of Nineveh. The third chapter indi- 
cates constant war and violence as the cause of her down- 
fall. Jehovah is against her, and He will surely bring 
her to the ground. 

Nahum perhaps prophesied about 630 B.C. Nineveh 
was destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians about 
606 B.C. 

147. ZEPHANIAH PROCLAIMS THE DAY OF JEHOVAH'S 
WRATH 

Zephaniah was probably of princely birth, a descendant 
of good King Hezekiah. He prophesied during the reign 
of Josiah, probably between 630 and 625 B.C. (Zeph. 
1:1). He may have helped forward the reforms in- 
augurated by the young king. 

Zephaniah is known chiefly for his description of the 
day of Jehovah's wrath against sinners. The famous 
Latin hymn by Thomas of Celano, beginning, Dies irae 
dies ilia, is founded on Zephaniah 1 : 14-18. Under the 
shadow of that day of darkness the prophet cries aloud : 
"Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have 
kept His ordinances ; seek righteousness, seek meekness : 
it may be that ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's 
anger" (Zeph. 2:3). 

Heavy judgments will overtake the Gentiles for their 
pride (Zeph. 2:4-15). At least one great blessing will 
come from these judgments: "Jehovah will be terrible 
unto them ; for He will famish all the gods of the earth; 
and men shall worship Him, every one from his place, 
even all the isles of the nations" (Zeph. 2: 11). Jehovah 
will yet starve the idols to death. Then all men will rec- 
ognize Him alone as God. 

Zephaniah paints the sin of Jerusalem in colors as dark 



180 THE HEART OF THE OLI 

as those of any previous prophet: 
midst of her are roaring lions; hei 
wolves ; they leave nothing till the m< 
are light and treacherous persons; 1 
f aned the sanctuary, they have done 
(Zeph. 3:1-7). What hope, then, 
wicked city ? It is found in the pres 
son: "Jehovah [ n the midst of her j 
not do iniquity ; every morning doth 
to light, He f aileth not" (Zeph. 3 : 
Jehovah has purposes of grace fo: 
Gentiles: "For then will I turn to 
language, that they may all call upc 
vah, to serve Him with one consenl 
Jerusalem it shall be said: "Jehova 
midst of thee, a mighty one who w 
joice over thee with joy; He will i 
will joy over thee with singing" (Ze 
aniah is first of all a preacher of j 
he also has a gospel for both Jew an 

148. HABAKKUK AND HIS 

The prophecy of Habakkuk prol 
reign of Jehoiakim, who reigned fi 
We know nothing of the personal hi 
but his mind is revealed with sing 
thinks aloud, stating to others the 



DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 

umph over peoples better than they? Habakkuk 
forts himself with the thought that the Rock of 
will protect His people from annihilation 
1:12-17). He takes his stand upon his tower i 
what Jehovah will say in reply to his complaint 
receives a revelation of many woes on proud and 
Babylon. Judgment will overtake her for all her c 
"But the righteous shall live by his faith" (Hab. 
A beautiful prayer, in the most elevated poetry, 
the book. The prophet prays for a revival of Jeh 
work. He recalls Jehovah's former notable delive: 
of His peop2e. He is thus enabled to rise to a pla 
which he is free from the dominion of outward ci 
stances. Rough Chaldean invaders may press in 
Judah and rob and plunder, but the prophet will r 
in Jehovah: 

"For though the fig-tree shall not flourish, 
Neither shall fruit be in the vines ; 
The labor of the olive shall fail, 
And the fields shall yield no food; 
The flock shall be cut off from the fold, 
And there shall be no herd in the stalls : 
Yet will I rejoice in Jehovah, 
I will joy in the God of my salvation." 

(Hab. 3:17, U 

Habakkuk rose to the level of Christian experiei 
his attitude toward troubles and calamities. 



182 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

that the young king had begun his reforms. At first 
Jeremiah tried to decline the office, on the ground that he 
was too young ; but Jehovah renewed the call, and encour- 
aged him by putting forth His hand in the vision and 
touching the young man's mouth, saying: "Behold, I have 
put My words in thy mouth : see, I have this day set thee 
over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and 
to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build 
and to plant" (Jer. 1:9,10). Here are four words of 
destructive activity and only two of constructive work. 
In this we have a hint that most of Jeremiah's work 
would be to destroy false hopes ; only then could he build 
on a solid foundation. 

Jeremiah is told in advance that he is to be opposed by 
princes, priests, and people alike ; but Jehovah will be with 
him to strengthen him. The timid and sensitive young 
man is promised all the help he needs. Orelli well says 
of Jeremiah : "As man he melts in tears and pines away 
in sympathy, as the bearer of God's word he is firm and 
hard like pillar and wall, on which the storm of a na- 
tion's wrath breaks in vain." 

The early discourses of Jeremiah reveal a state of re- 
ligious apostasy and moral degeneracy in Judah. Even 
the heathen stick to their gods ; but Israel has exchanged 
the living God for worthless idols. Jehovah complains: 
"For my people have committeed two evils : they have 
forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed 
them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no 
water" (Jer. 2:11). As Jeremiah first wrote his early 
prophecies in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (605 B.C.), 
it is probable that much of his denunciation refers to the 
wickedness of Judah under the cruel Jehoiakim. 

In process of time Jehovah's people will recognize 
their terrible blunder: "Thine own wickedness shall 
correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee" 
(Jer. 2:19). Superficial reformation will not suffice: 
"For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee 



DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 183 

much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith 
the Lord Jehovah" (Jer. 2:22). Every city in Judah 
has its own god (Jer. 2:28). Jeremiah looked beneath 
the surface of Josiah's reformation, and saw that the 
hearts of the people were not in it: "And yet for all 
this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto 
me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah" 
(Jer. 3:10). 

Jeremiah announces the approach of an invader, pos- 
sibly the irruption of the Scythian hordes from the north. 
The prophet is in distress : "My anguish, my anguish ! 
I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted 
within me; I cannot hold my peace; because thou hast 
heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm 
of war" (Jer. 4 : 19) . The people flee to the thickets 
and the crags; but the pursuers overtake them (Jer. 4: 
27-31). 

Jehovah offers to pardon Jerusalem if a single just and 
faithful man can be found in her (Jer. 5:1). The des- 
perate situation in Judah is stated by the prophet thus: 
"A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the 
land : the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear 
rule by their means ; and my people love to have it so : 
and what will you do in the end thereof ?" (Jer. 5 : 30, 
31). 

After another chapter of warnings and appeals, the 
prophet concludes that the nation is doomed: "The bel- 
lows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in 
vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not 
plucked away. Refuse silver shall men call them, 
because Jehovah hath rejected them" (Jer. 6:29, 
30). 

In 610 B.C. Josiah fell in the battle of Megiddo. 
Jeremiah composed a lamentation over the death of the 
pious king. Jehoahaz held the throne for three months, 
when he was removed by Pharaoh-necho, and Jehoiakim 
came to the throne. He was the most treacherous and 



ISi THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

cruel of the four wicked kings that followed Josiah in 
Judah. 

150. jeremiah's ministry under jehoiakim 

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim Jehovah 
commanded Jeremiah to stand in the court of the temple 
and to warn the people that their beautiful sanctuary 
would presently be made a desolation like Shiloh. The 
substance of this stirring discourse is found in Jeremiah 
7:1 to 8 : 3. The sermon so angered the religious lead- 
ers that they seized him to put him to death. Jeremiah 
was put on trial before the princes, the priests and the 
prophets being his chief accusers. The prophet replies 
that Jehovah has sent him, and that the proper thing to 
do is to amend their ways and their doings. If they put 
him to death, they will bring innocent blood upon them- 
selves ; for Jehovah verily sent him to speak these words 
in their ears (Jer. 26:1-16). 

The civil rulers were better men than the priests and 
the prophets, and they cite the case of Micah and his 
severe prediction against Zion as a precedent for releas- 
ing Jeremiah (Jer. 26 : 17-19). Matters went worse 
with the prophet Uriah, who spoke in words similar 
to Jeremiah's. He was slain with the sword by 
Jehoiakim (Jer. 26:20-24). 

Jeremiah's sermon in 7:1 to 8 : 3 is a fine specimen 
of earnest, fearless preaching. Read it, and you will 
not wonder that the false prophets clamored for his blood. 

Jeremiah's grief becomes more intense, as he discovers 
that Judah's idolatry is incurable. He longs for com- 
fort against sorrow. He sometimes wishes that his eyes 
were a fountain of tears. He would like to leave his 
sinful people for a lodge in some wilderness (Jer. 8 : 18 
to 9:6). 

One of Jeremiah's heaviest trials was the knowledge 
that his prayers on behalf of Judah could not be heard. 



DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 185 

Jehovah forbids him to pray for the people given over 
to high-handed rebellion Qer. 7: 16-18; 11: 14; 14: 11;. 
But the prophet cannot refrain from praying for his 
people. The spirit of intercession seizes him, and he 
pleads with Jehovah not to abhor His people (Jer. 14: 
19-22;. Jehovah replies: "Though Moses and Samuel 
stood before me, yet my mind would not be toward this 
people : cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth" 
(Jer. 15 : 1). Prayer cannot now save Judah from exile. 

Besides the struggle within the sympathetic soul of 
the prophet at this time, there was conspiracy without; 
for the men of Anathoth, his native village, were plot- 
ting against his life (Jer. 11:18-23). Even Jeremiah's 
own kindred were in the plot (Jer. 12:5,6). Problems 
of the divine government bore heavily upon Jeremiah, 
just as they did upon his contemporary Habakkuk (Jer. 
12 : 1, 2) . The false prophets contradicted. Jeremiah 
continually, and called him a croaker or a traitor (Jer. 
14:13-18). It seemed to the sensitive prophet that 
every one was cursing him (Jer. 15 : 10). He opens his 
heart to God and tells of his disappointment in connec- 
tion with his fruitless ministry (Jer. 15: 10-21). 

Jeremiah's loneliness was a great trial. Isaiah had a 
wife in sympathy with him in his great work; but Jere- 
miah was forbidden to marry (Jer. 16:1-4). Hated 
and cursed by the people for whom he kept praying, he 
had scarcely a soul to whom he could turn for sympathy 
and counsel. He was shut up to dependence on Je- 
hovah, with whom he pleaded: "Be not a terror unto 
me: Thou art my refuge in the day of evil" (Jer. 17: 
17). 

Jehovah made revelation of His freedom to change 
His attitude to meet the changed attitude of a nation 
(Jer. 18:1-12). This is one of the most important 
chapters in the roll of Jeremiah. Men have often fancied 
that they could get God in a corner and compel Him 
to do that which they wished, even though it might be 



186 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

unworthy of God. Not so, says the word of Jehovah 
through Jeremiah ; for God is free to adapt Himself to 
changed conditions. He often predicts evil, in order 
that it may be averted through the repentance of those 
upon whom it would otherwise have fallen. He also 
predicts blessing; but no one can presume upon God's 
promises and demand the blessing, if his life has been 
unworthy. 

Jeremiah was finally arrested, smitten, and put in the 
stocks by Pashhur the priest, who was chief officer of 
the temple. As persecution became severer the sensitive 
prophet suffered keenly in his soul. It seems that he 
tried to quit prophesying: "And if I say, I will not 
make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name, 
then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut 
up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I 
cannot contain" (Jer. 20: 9). In desperation the prophet 
curses the day wherein he was born (Jer. 20:14-18). 

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim (605 B.C.), Jehovah 
commanded Jeremiah to take a roll and write therein 
all the words He had given him to speak against Israel 
and against Judah. Jeremiah called Baruch the son of 
Neriah and dictated to him the substance of the mes- 
sages he had delivered to Judah from 628 to 605 B.C. 
Baruch then read from the roll in the temple in the 
hearing of the people. 

In the following year (604 B.C.) Baruch again read 
from the roll in the ears of the people of Juda'h on a 
fast-day. When Micaiah reported the substance of the 
book to the princes, they sent for Baruch to read the 
roll in their hearing. It seemed to them important that 
King Jehoiakim should know the contents of the book. 
They warned Baruch to hide and to cause Jeremiah also 
to hide, lest Jehoiakim should seek to slay them. 

When the princes reported to the king concerning the 
roll, he sent for it, and after hearing three or four 
columns read, he seized it, cut it with a pen-knife, and 



DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 187 

threw it into the fire in the brazier. He also sought to 
kill Jeremiah and Baruch ; "but Jehovah hid them" ( Jer. 
36:1-26). 

At the command of Jehovah, Jeremiah reproduced the 
words that were in the roll which Jehoiakim had burned 
in the fire; "and there were added besides unto them 
many like words" (Jer. 36:27-32). 

Jeremiah was in great danger of losing his life through- 
out the reign of Jehoiakim. Then came the very brief 
reign of Jehoiachin. Nebuchadrezzar took the young 
king captive to Babylon, leaving Zedekiah on the throne 
of Judah (2 Kings 24:8-17). 

151. jeremiah's ministry under zedekiah 

Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, was inclined to treat 
Jeremiah with kindness; but he was a weak man, with- 
out sufficient energy and courage to do what he knew 
to be right. From the fourth year of Jehoiakim (605 
B.C.), when Nebuchadrezzar defeated the Egyptians at 
Carchemish, Jeremiah preached submission to the Baby- 
lonian king (Jer. 25: 11). Throughout Zedekiah's reign 
(597-587 B.C.) Jeremiah taught that Jehovah had given 
Judah and the other nations into the hand of Nebuchad- 
rezzar. He claimed the great Babylonian conqueror as 
a servant to Jehovah (Jer. 27:6). He urged Zedekiah 
and his people to serve Nebuchadrezzar faithfully (Jer. 
27:12). He denounced the false prophets who were 
encouraging the people to hope for a speedy return of 
the vessels of the temple carried off by the Babylonians 
in 605 and 598 B.C. (Jer. 27: 14-22). 

In the fourth year of Zedekiah (594 B.C.) the prophet 
Hananiah predicted that within two years the yoke of 
Nebuchadrezzar would be broken, and that Jehoiachin 
and the captives would return to Jerusalem. Hananiah 
gave emphasis to his prediction by taking the bar from off 
the neck of Jeremiah and breaking it. A few days later 



188 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Jeremiah foretold the death of Hananiah as a punish- 
ment for making Judah trust in a lie (chapter 28). 

Jeremiah also had a contest by letter with the false 
prophets among the exiles in Babylon (chapter 29). He 
predicted that at the end of seventy years the people in 
exile would pray to their God and be brought back home 
(Jer. 29:10-14). 

Encouraged by the false prophets and by promises of 
help from Egypt, Zedekiah finally rebelled against 
Nebuchadrezzar. Jeremiah preached submission and 
surrender from the beginning of the Babylonian invasion 
until the capture of Jerusalem (chapters 21, 34, 37, and 
38). At first Jeremiah was not molested, though he 
must have been exceedingly unpopular. Under the pres- 
sure of fear, Zedekiah and the people made a covenant 
to release all their Hebrew slaves; but when the Chal- 
deans raised the siege of Jerusalem in order to meet the 
army of Pharaoh-hophra, the people forced their former 
slaves back into bondage (chapter 34). Jeremiah pre- 
dicted that the Chaldeans would return and burn Jeru- 
salem with fire (Jer. 37:1-10). 

The prophet thought it a good time to leave Jerusalem, 
while the Chaldeans were busy elsewhere, and so he set 
out for Anathoth ; but an officer arrested him as he was 
in the gate of the city, and accused him of deserting to 
the Chaldeans. The princes smote Jeremiah, and put 
him in the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the scribe 
(Jer. 37:11-15). 

The Chaldeans defeated the Egyptian army, and re- 
turned to the siege of Jerusalem. Zedekiah sent for 
Jeremiah to learn whether there was any word from 
Jehovah. The prophet told him that he would be de- 
livered into the hand of the king of Babylon. He re- 
quested the king not to send him back to the dungeon. 
He was transferred to the court of the guard, where he 
received a loaf of bread daily until all the bread in the 
city was spent (Jer. 37: 16-21). 



DRIFTING TOWARD CAPTIVITY 189 

As Jeremiah kept preaching submission to the Chal- 
deans, the princes demanded of Zedekiah that he be put 
to death as a traitor. The prophet was cast into the 
mire of a dungeon in the court of the guard. An Ethi- 
opian interceded for Jeremiah, and received permission 
to draw him out of the mire. He then remained a pris- 
oner in the court of the guard until the city was taken 
[(chapter 38). 

152. jeremiah's closing days 

Jeremiah was not carried to Babylon with Zedekiah 
and the other captives, but was encouraged to abide with 
the remnant that was left in Judah. He remained with 
the new governor, Gedaliah. After the assassination 
of Gedaliah, Jeremiah went with Johanan to Bethlehem 
'(chapters 40, 41). 

The old prophet was carried by force into Egypt, where 
he foretold the coming of Nebuchadrezzar to the Nile 
valley (chapters 42, 43). In his old age Jeremiah made 
an earnest appeal to the Jews in Egypt to turn away 
from idolatry; but they flatly refused to do so, openly 
affirming that they were better off when they worshiped 
the queen of heaven (chapter 44). There is a Jewish 
tradition to the effect that the people finally stoned Jere- 
miah to death. 

The ministry of Jeremiah, though long and faithful, 
was seemingly a complete failure. An intense patriot, 
he was accounted a traitor; longing to turn his people 
from sin and captivity, he must constantly announce the 
certainty of exile; a lover of peace, he spent his life 
battling against idolatry. 

153. jeremiah's life not a failure 

Jeremiah helped the people of God to go through the 
temptations of the Exile without making shipwreck o£ 



190 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

faith. He showed that Jehovah's hand was in the down- 
fall of Judah. He claimed Nebuchadrezzar as a servant 
in the hands of Jehovah. The gods of Babylon had 
nothing to do with the successes of Nebuchadrezzar. 

Two doctrines taught by Jeremiah helped to make the 
transition to a higher stage of religious thought and life. 

(1) His doctrine of individualism. He attacks the 
proverb by which the captives were excusing themselves : 
"In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have 
eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on 
edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: 
every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be 
set on edge" (Jer. 31:29,30). 

(2) Jeremiah's doctrine of the new covenant marks 
a transition from a covenant on tables of stone to a cov- 
enant in the heart. See Hebrews 8:7-13. New Testa- 
ment religion emphasizes individualism and spirituality. 
God deals with every man ; and He requires of him 
love and faith and fellowship. 



Chapter XII 

THE EXILE 

154. THE EXILE A PROCESS 

THE Exile was a process rather than an event. The 
Assyrians were busy from 734 to 722 B.C. with 
repeated invasions of the country occupied by the Ten 
Tribes. Several companies of captives were taken to 
the East. We usually think of 722 B.C. as the year of 
the Assyrian Exile, because Samaria fell in that year, 
and its inhabitants were transported into the country of 
the Medes; but Tiglath-pileser had already carried cap- 
tive the people east of the Jordan and in Galilee. 

The same process was repeated in the Babylonian Ex- 
ile. As early as 605 B.C., Daniel and others were car- 
ried from Jerusalem to Babylon. In 598 B.C. King 
Johoiachin and many of his people were carried to Baby- 
lon. The climax was reached in 587 B.C., when Jeru- 
salem was captured and the temple burned by the 
Chaldeans. Zedekiah and most of the people remaining 
in Judah were carried captive to Babylon. 

155. EFFECT OF THE EXILE ON THE JEWS 

It was a sorrowful time when the Jews were gathered 
together by their captors for the long journey away from 
the home land into a foreign country. When at last the 
temple was burned and the kingdom of Judah was 
crushed altogether, many must have come to think that 
Jehovah was not equal in might to the gods of Babylon. 
Some gave up their religious faith and were assimilated 
191 



192 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

to the heathen. Others listened to the false prophets, 
who predicted that Jehovah would soon restore His peo- 
ple to their own land. Jeremiah and Ezekiel taught their 
people that the captivity itself was brought about by 
Israel's God as a chastisement for their idolatry and 
immorality. The Exile was Jehovah's school of disci- 
pline for His rebellious people. As soon as it should 
accomplish its work in leading Judah to a higher moral 
and religious life, Jehovah would deliver His people 
from their captors. 

There is no evidence to prove that the sufferings of 
the Jews in Babylon were exceptionally heavy. They 
were allowed to settle in Babylonia and to engage in 
commerce. The artisans found employment in their new 
home. There seems to have been no serious persecution 
of the Jews for their religious views or practices. 

Of course, the ritual of the temple worship ceased 
with the destruction of Jerusalem. Strict Jews like Dan- 
iel and his three friends kept the dietary laws peculiar 
to the Jews, and pious souls prayed and fasted and led 
clean lives among the heathen. The more patriotic and 
pious Jews lived according to the laws of their fathers, 
and longed for a return to the Holy Land. These be- 
came intense and outspoken in their hatred of idolatry. 
The discipline of the Exile brought forth fruit in the 
chastened characters of the more noble Jews. These 
encouraged their hearts by the promises given through 
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 

156. ezekiel's vision and call 

Ezekiel was a priest before he became a prophet. He 
was carried captive with King Jehoiachin in 598 B.C., 
and was called to the work of a prophet five years later. 
He prophesied to the Jewish captives by the river Chebar 
in lower Babylonia from 593 to 571 B.C. 

Ezekiel paints his pictures with much attention to de- 



THE EXILE 193 

tails. Isaiah preferred to use a few bold strokes that 
appealed to the imagination. Ezekiel's opening vision, 
complex and involved as it is, has a grandeur and im- 
pressiveness all its own. It is important that the reader 
should go on to the revelation of Jehovah on the throne 
above the firmament. It was this vision of Jehovah that 
caused Ezekiel to fall on his face (Ezek. 1). 

Then there came a voice from the throne calling Ezek- 
iel to become a prophet to the children of Israel. Ezekiel 
must not be afraid of the rebellious people to whom he 
is sent, though briers and thorns are with him, and he 
dwells among scorpions. Jehovah says to him: "And 
thou shalt speak My words unto them, whether they will 
hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most 
rebellious" (Ezek. 2:1-7). 

In vision the prophet saw a roll of a book extended 
to him, and the command came, "Eat this roll, and go, 
speak unto the house of Israel." The prophet remarks : 
"Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey 
for sweetness" (Ezek. 2:8 to 3:3). This was because 
the roll contained the words of God, and not because the 
messages were cheering and pleasing. The prophet is 
told that Jehovah will make him strong to speak His 
word with boldness to the rebellious people (Ezek. 3: 
4-11). The prophet's feelings under the influence of 
the Spirit are described. He felt himself in the grip of 
the Almighty. His spirit was bitter and hot within him, 
as he turned to face his people (Ezek. 3: 12-15). 

The fearful responsibility of the prophetic watchman 
is brought home to Ezekiel, as he takes up his work. 
Every pastor and Christian teacher ought to read the 
searching words of Jehovah in Ezekiel 3 : 16-21. 

157. ezekiel's ministry prior to the fall of 
jerusalem 

As long as Jerusalem was in the possession of the 



191 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

people of Judah and the temple worship kept up, the 
hopes of the patriotic Jews both at home and in Baby- 
lonia gathered about the holy city. They could not be- 
lieve that Jehovah would permit the heathen to destroy 
His sanctuary. Jeremiah in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in 
Babylonia warned their people of the approaching de- 
struction of Jerusalem and of the utter collapse of the 
kingdom. From 593 to 587 B.C. Ezekiel's message was 
one of warning and threat. He tried to brush away the 
false hopes of a speedy return to the Holy Land. Jeru- 
salem, because of her unparalleled wickedness, is to be 
given up to famine and the sword. The decree of exile 
has gone forth from Jehovah. "Make the chain; for 
the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of 
violence" (chapters 4 to 7). 

As Ezekiel sat in his house in the midst of the elders 
of Judah, suddenly the hand of the Lord Jehovah fell 
upon him. The form of a hand seized him by a lock 
of his hair, and lifted him up between earth and heaven, 
and brought him to Jerusalem. In this vision God 
showed him all the sins and crimes practiced by the peo- 
ple still remaining in Jerusalem (chapters 8 to 11). 

Ezekiel was fond of symbols. It has been well said 
that he thought in figures. He performed many sym- 
bolic actions that pointed to the capture and destruction 
of Jerusalem (chapter 12). He denounced the prophets, 
who daubed with untempered mortar, and the prophet- 
esses, who hunted for souls (chapter 13). Jehovah 
informs Ezekiel that the presence of Noah, Daniel, and 
Job in Jerusalem would not cause Him to spare the city 
(chapter 14). Jerusalem is a worthless, half-consumed 
vine branch (chapter 15). She is a wanton harlot, and 
will be humiliated in the presence of her lovers (chapter 
16). The covenant-breaking Zedekiah shall not escape 
(chapter 17). Jehovah will deal with each individual, 
and not with the nation as a whole. Each man must 
suffer for his own sins (chapter 18). The prophet 



THE EXILE 195 

continues his denunciations of wrong in Jerusalem, and 
repeats his warnings of the approach of the sword in 
the hands of the king of Babylon. Samaria and Jeru- 
salem are both vile harlots (chapters 19 to 23). 

In B.C. 589, as the king of Babylon drew near to the 
siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel was commanded to write the 
name of the day. The Spirit of God gave him knowl- 
edge of an event occurring hundreds of miles away. 
Later on the Jews learned that on the selfsame day named 
by the prophet the Babylonians invested Jerusalem (24: 
1-14). 

One day the prophet received a revelation that must 
have cost him much pain : "Son of man, behold, I take 
away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: 
yet thou shalt neither mourn nor weep, neither shall thy 
tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourn- 
ing for the dead; bind thy headtire upon thee, and put 
thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat 
not the bread of men." The prophet tells the sad story 
in a sentence : "So I spake unto the people in the morn- 
ing; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morn- 
ing as I was commanded" (Ezek. 24: 15-18). 

He had to explain his strange conduct to his people, 
who were presently to have a similar experience (24: 
19-27). 

158. ezekiel's later ministry of hope and cheer 

As a preliminary to the hopeful teaching concerning 
the restoration of Israel to divine favor in their own 
land, the prophet describes the judgments that are to 
fall upon the proud nations which have oppressed Israel 
(chapters 25 to 32). He then describes the restoration 
of Israel and their happy future (chapters 33 to 48). 

False shepherds must give way before the Second 
David (chapter 34). In 34: 15 Jehovah says, "I Myself 
will be the shepherd of My sheep;" but in 34:23 He 



196 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

makes it plain that the Messiah is to be the immediate 
shepherd in charge of His flock: "And I will set up one 
shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My 
servant David ; He shall feed them, and He shall be their 
shepherd." 

159. ezekiel's doctrine of individualism 

Ezekiel follows Jeremiah in emphasizing the freedom 
and the responsibility of each individual soul. He at- 
tacks even more sharply than Jeremiah the proverb by 
which the generation in exile excused themselves and 
laid the blame on their fathers. "What mean ye," says 
Ezekiel, "that ye use this proverb concerning the land 
of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, 
and the children's teeth are set on edge?" The prophet 
announces as a general principle : "The soul that sinneth, 
it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the 
father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the 
son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon 
him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon 
him (Ezek. 18:2, 20). 

The teaching of Ezekiel in chapters 18 and 33 con- 
cerning individual freedom and responsibility may be 
thus summarized : 

(1) No man is necessarily under the dominion of the 
conduct of his ancestors. He is free to choose for him- 
self. He may turn away from his father's sins, and he 
may also turn away from his righteous life. A good 
father may thus have a wicked son ; and a wicked father 
may have a good son. Jehovah will judge the son as an 
individual separate from his father. Heredity is not 
an insuperable barrier to one who chooses to be other 
than his father. 

(2) No man is necessarily under the dominion of his 
own past conduct. He cannot presume on his past good- 
ness ; and he ought not to despair by reason of the sins 



THE EXILE 197 

and follies of his past life. He is free to turn away 
from his own past. Habit, powerful as it is, cannot bind 
the man who wills to change. 

160. THE NEW HEART 

The prophet pleads with his people to turn from their 
sins and to make for themselves a new heart and a new 
spirit (Ezek. 18:31). In such a noble endeavor they 
can count on the help of Jehovah; for He takes no 
pleasure in the death of the sinner. "As I live, saith 
the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the 
wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way and live : 
turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will ye die, 
O house of Israel?" (Ezek. 33 : 11). Jehovah will renew 
the nature of all who wish to be free from the dominion 
of sin. Ezekiel encourages his fellow exiles with the 
promise of a new heart : "and I will take the stony heart 
out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; 
that they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine 
ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, 
and I will be their God" (11 : 19, 20). 

161. EZEKIEL THE PROPHET OF HOPE 

Ezekiel describes the wonders of Jehovah's grace. His 
people, whose bones are bleaching in the valley, are re- 
stored to life by the power of God ; and Israel and Judah 
are reunited under the Messianic King (chapter 37). 
A glorious vista of hope is opened by the promise, "and 
David My servant shall be their prince forever. More- 
over I will make a covenant of peace with them ; it shall 
be an everlasting covenant with them" (37:25, 26). 

The foes of Jehovah's people may assemble all their 
forces; but ultimate defeat awaits them. Jehovah will 
protect His people (chapters 38, 39). 

One of the most hopeful passages in all the Bible is 



198 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

the description of the transformation of the Wady of 
Fire and of the Dead Sea by the life-giving stream that 
takes its rise beside Jehovah's altar and flows thence 
in ever-increasmg volume, until it makes the sea of death 
a picture of life and prosperity (Ezek 47-1-12) So 
shall it be with the religion of Jehovah. The life-giving 
stream will finally transform all the drought and desola- 
tion and death of this sinful world into a scene of life 
and prosperity and peace. 

162. daniel's piety and promotion 

_ Daniel was taken into captivity in 605 B C the year 
in which Nebuchadrezzar first invaded Syria and Pales- 
tine. He was put in training along with his three He- 
brew friends in the royal university in Babylon He 
was to be educated for the king's service. The young 
Jew resolved to live according to the law of Jehovah in 

♦ S w fi? aS , hC had a,Ways done in J udah - We are 
told that Darnel purposed in his heart that he would not 
defile himself with the king's dainties, nor with the wine 
Which he drank" (Dan. 1:8). It was not easy to gain 
his request to be fed only with vegetables; but aftfr a 

o bet h C H """h ^ f nd hfS threC fn ' ends were ^und 
to be in better physical condition than the youths who 
ate of the kings dainties. Moreover they made such 
progress in their studies that they surpassed all theTr 
fellows in wisdom and understanding, and so were ap- 
pointed to stand before the king (chapter 1) 

163. DANIEL FAMOUS FOR WISDOM 

Because of his prophetic visions, we are apt to think 
of Daniel as a prophet; but in his own day he was most 
renowned for wisdom (Ezek. 28:3; Dan 1:20; 2 48 
4:9; 5:10-12). He was not only an interpreter of 
dreams, but also a wise statesman and governor. He 



THE EXILE 199 

was not merely a student of books and of the mysteries 
of the world, but a man among men, a leader in the 
world's work. His influence was thrown on the side of 
justice and of kindness. He sought the highest good of 
all men. His record was such that no fault could be 
found with his administration. 

Daniel's wisdom was not all the fruit of study. Jeho- 
vah revealed through him the course of history for cen- 
turies to come. Daniel himself expressly ascribes to 
God the wisdom with which he interpreted dreams and 
foretold future events (2:28). 

164. MIRACLES OF DELIVERANCE 

The Book of Daniel contains several of the greatest 
stories of the supernatural deliverance of individuals to 
be found in the Bible. They are so familiar to old and 
young alike that we need only to name them. First 
comes the preservation of the three Hebrews in the 
fiery furnace (chapter 3) ; then the insanity and the 
restoration of Nebuchadrezzar (chapter 4), and finally 
the story of Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6). 

We cannot always give an explanation of God's deal- 
ings with men ; but it is plain that the Exile was a crit- 
ical period in the history of redemption. The heathen 
world seemed to be triumphant over Jehovah and His 
captive people. It was a suitable time for the God of 
Israel to work wonders on behalf of His exiles. 

165. THE FUTURE UNVEILED 

Most of Daniel's work as a prophet was in the field 
of prediction. He did not preach, like Amos and Isaiah 
and Jeremiah. He was a counselor of kings and an 
administrative officer rather than a prophet. But Daniel 
made many predictions. His writings are apocalypses, 
or revelations of the future. 



200 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

Two of the greatest predictions Daniel ever made are 
those contained in Daniel 2 : 44 and 7 : 13, 14. Jehovah's 
kingdom shall stand forever. 

Daniel describes the physical effects of the great rev- 
elations made to him (7:15; 8:15-18; 10:7-11). He 
was sometimes overwhelmed and made weak by what he 
saw. 

166. REWARDS OF THE SOUL-WINNERS 

Not even Daniel himself understood fully the visions 
which he describes. Time has made clear the meaning 
of some of them, while others are still interpreted dif- 
ferently by different minds. But the great promise to 
winners of souls is intelligible to all. It is founded on 
the revelation of the resurrection. "And many of them 
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to 
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con- 
tempt. And they that are wise shall shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmament ; and they that turn many to right- 
eousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Dan. 12:2, 3). 
The doctrine of the resurrection is here clearly taught. 
The Christian Scriptures make it plain that all that sleep 
in the dust of earth shall awake, thus completing the 
fragmentary and progressive revelation through the 
prophets of the Old Testament. Soul-winners do well 
to be earnest and patient ; for the issues are eternal. 

167. PSALMS OF THE EXILE 

Psalms 74 and 79 seem to refer to the burning of the 
city and of the temple by the Chaldeans. They voice 
the grief of pious and patriotic Jews over the destruc- 
tion of the sanctuary. 

Psalm 137 expresses the passionate devotion of one 
of the exiles to Jerusalem and her worship. He prays 
that her bitter foes may be requited for their cruelty. 



THE EXILE 201 

Psalm 102 is the prayer of an afflicted soul on the eve 
of the return from the Exile (Psa. 102:12-14). The 
psalmist looks forward to the time 

"When the peoples are gathered together, 
And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah." 

The Psalter perhaps contains other prayers and hymns 
composed during the Exile. Historians and sages were 
also at work among the captives. 

The knowledge of the religion of Jehovah was spread 
abroad in the Babylonian Empire. The glory of Jeho- 
vah as the God of faithfulness and love and holiness 
was already dawning upon the world's great minds. The 
Exile put Jehovah's worshipers in the midst of the 
heathen. God made this contact a blessing both to Jew 
and to Gentile. 



Chapter XIII 

THE RESTORATION 

THE long night of the Exile at length came to an 
end. The promises of Jehovah through Isaiah 
and Jeremiah and Ezekiel were about to be fulfilled. 
The Babylonian supremacy had given place to the rule 
of a liberal-minded king from Anshan, known to us as 
Cyrus the Great. Babylon fell into his hands in 538 
B.C. Two years later he takes the reins of government 
into his own hands, and devises ways and means for the 
pacification of his new subjects and for the strengthen- 
ing of his throne. 

168. THE PROCLAMATION OF CYRUS 

About 536 B.C., Cyrus issued the following proclama- 
tion: "Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the king- 
doms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, 
given me ; and He hath charged me to build Him a house 
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is 
among you of all His people, his God be with him, and 
let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build 
the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel, (He is the 
God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever is left, 
in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his 
place help him with silver and with gold, and with goods, 
and with beasts, besides the free-will offering for the 
house of God which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:2-4). 

It was once thought that Cyrus was a monotheist, and 
that he may have come to recognize Jehovah as the true 

202 



THE RESTORATION 203 

God; but the decipherment of the inscriptions of Cyrus 
has revealed him as a polytheist courting the favor of all 
the gods. He was a mild ruler governing according to 
higher standards than had prevailed before him. It was 
part of his policy to let captive peoples return to their 
former homes; and he sought the favor of the deities 
by rebuilding their temples and restoring their wor- 
ship. 

169. THE RETURN TO JERUSALEM 

More than forty-two thousand Jews responded to the 
proclamation of Cyrus and prepared to return to their 
land. They also took with them more than seven thou- 
sand servants. The entire caravan numbered nearly 
fifty thousand souls. Their leaders were Zerubbabel 
(or Sheshbazzar) the prince and Jeshua the high priest. 
They made the journey in safety and settled in Judah 
(Ezra 1, 2). 

Many Jews remained in Babylonia, some because they 
had given up faith in Jehovah, and many because of 
business interests. Some of them probably returned to 
Jerusalem as soon as they could sell their property at 
a fair price. The Jews of the Dispersion were perhaps 
as devout and conscientious as those who returned to 
Judah. They were more liberal and humane. 

170. TRIALS AND DISCOURAGEMENTS 

The people who returned from Exile found much to 
discourage them on their return to Judah. The land 
was desolate and Jerusalem in ruins. They tried to en- 
courage their hearts by observing the feast of Taber- 
nacles in the seventh month. Next year (534 B.C.) 
they laid the foundation of the temple with shouts and 
praises. The old men who had seen the temple of Solo- 
mon in its glory wept when they thought of its superior- 



204 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

ity to any house they could now hope to build (Ezra 

There were many heathen in Judah and in the dis- 
tricts adjacent, and these now came forward with a 
request that they be allowed to join the people of Judah 
in building the temple. Had they come with a sincere 
desire to honor Jehovah and to help His people, it would 
have been wrong to decline their offer; but the leaders 
of the Jews knew that these heathen would not worship 
Jehovah according to the Law. The admission of for- 
eigners to the temple would bring discord into their 
worship. Hence they flatly refused to accept the aid of 
their heathen neighbors. As a natural consequence, they 
incurred their enmity. "Then the people of the land 
weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled 
them in building" (Ezra 4:1-5). No doubt many of the 
Jews almost wished that they had remained with their 
brethren in Babylonia. 

171. HAGGAI URGES THAT THE TEMPLE BE REBUILT 

For fourteen years the discouraged people of Judah 
let the work on the temple cease. In 520 B.C. Haggai 
came to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and to 
Joshua, the high priest, with a rebuke for the people for 
neglecting the house of Jehovah, while building and beau- 
tifying their own houses. Jehovah had sent drought as 
a punishment for their selfishness (Haggai 1:1-11). 

Zerubbabel and Joshua and the remnant of the people 
obeyed the voice of Jehovah through Haggai the prophet, 
and resumed work on the temple (Haggai 1:12-15). 
Jehovah encourages them to go forward and complete the 
temple, promising to supply them with money enough. 
Let them not lose heart when they remember the beauty 
and glory of Solomon's temple. "The latter glory of 
this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah 
of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith Jeho- 



THE RESTORATION 205 

vah of hosts" (Haggai 2:1-9). Jehovah promises 
blessing to the people, because they have gone to work 
on His sanctuary. He will bestow a special blessing 
upon Zerubbabel, the leader in the work (Haggai 2: 
10-23). 

172. ZECHARIAH ENCOURAGES THE BUILDERS 

Two months after Haggai began to preach to the peo- 
ple about rebuilding the temple (520 B.C.) the word of 
Jehovah came to Zechariah, a young man in Jerusalem, 
and he presently spoke words of encouragement to the 
builders. 

Zechariah received his revelations in connection with 
a series of visions, all of which were encouraging to the 
people at work on the temple. Jehovah's horsemen have 
been among the nations on a tour of inspection; He is 
getting ready to show mercy to Jerusalem and to rebuild 
His temple (Zech. 1:7-17). Judah's oppressors are 
about to be broken (1:18-21). The nations will one 
day be gathered in to be the people of Jehovah, and Jeru- 
salem shall be filled with inhabitants (chapter 2). The 
high priest shall be forgiven, cleansed, and anointed 
(chapter 3). Zerubbabel, whose hands have laid the 
foundations of the sanctuary, shall also finish it. He will 
overcome all obstacles through the Spirit's help (chapter 
4). A curse is pronounced on the thief and the liar; 
and wickedness is banished to her proper seat in Baby- 
lon (chapter 5). The high priest is crowned. The 
Branch of Jehovah will unite in Himself the royal and 
the priestly lines (chapter 6). The fasts of exilic days 
will be converted into days of joy and gladness (chapters 
7, 8). 

The preaching of Haggai and Zechariah was eminently 
successful. "And the elders of the Jews builded and 
prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the 
prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo" (Ezra 6: 14). 



206 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

The sanctuary was finished in four years, and was dedi- 
cated with joy in 516 B.C. (Ezra 6: 14-22). 

173. THE LATER MINISTRY OF EECHARIAH 

Zechariah probably lived for many years after the 
building and dedication of the second temple. Jehovah 
gave him important messages concerning Israel and the 
heathen powers that were near Israel. Zechariah uses 
the term Israel to designate the people who had returned, 
whether they were of Judah or of other tribes. 

These later chapters of Zechariah are especially rich 
in Messianic prophecies. Thus the entry of Zion's lowly 
King is described in 9:9, 10; the mourning over the 
Pierced One in 12: 10-14; the smiting of the Shepherd 
and the scattering of the flock in 13:7. 

Jerusalem, after terrible chastisement, is to be trans- 
formed, and, under the protection of Jehovah, shall be 
the center of worship for the world. Everything be- 
comes holy in Jerusalem, the secular being merged into 
the sacred (chapter 14). 

174. ESTHER SAVES HER PEOPLE 

The story of Esther belongs to the reign of Xerxes, 
the vainglorious Persian king who was defeated by the 
Greeks at Salamis in 480 B.C. On his return to Persia, 
he gave himself up to the pleasures of his palace. Then 
it was that Esther was chosen as his favorite in the place 
of Vashti (Esther 1, 2). We next learn how the Jews 
fell under the ban of extermination (chapters 3 to 5) ; 
and finally how danger was turned into deliverance 
through the skill and courage of Esther (chapters 6 to 
10). 

The story of Esther inculcates patriotism. It has al- 
ways been a favorite story with the Jews. The doctrine 



THE RESTORATION 207 

of Providence is admirably taught without a single occur- 
rence of the name of God in the book. 



175. EZRA LEADS A CARAVAN TO JERUSALEM 

The Jews in the Holy Land had many trials and dis- 
couragements in the years that followed the return from 
captivity. Even after the temple had been rebuilt and 
the ritual worship resumed, there were still many dis- 
couragements. The colony was hardly strong enough 
to protect itself against its heathen neighbors. It must 
have been exceedingly gratifying to have a reinforce- 
ment of earnest men from among the Jews still remain- 
ing in Babylonia. 

Ezra was a ready scribe in the law of Moses. He was 
zealous for the customs peculiar to Israel. He resolved 
to lead a caravan from Babylon to Jerusalem to strengthen 
the hands of the faithful in the Holy City. As Ezra was 
in favor at court, he could have had a strong escort of 
Persian horsemen for the asking; but he was ashamed 
to make the request, because he had told the king that 
Jehovah was a God who protected His worshipers. He 
secured a decree from Artaxerxes granting him authority 
to conduct a caravan to Jerusalem, and to preside over 
the administration of affairs in Judah (Ezra 7:1 to 8: 
30). The journey was made in safety, and Ezra de- 
posited in the temple the rich presents he brought from 
Babylon (8:31-36). These events occurred in 458 B.C. 

176. ezra's reformation 

Ezra was greatly distressed when he learned that the 
people of Judah were intermarrying with their heathen 
neighbors. Heathen customs were thus coming in among 
the people, and the chosen nation was fast losing its 
peculiarity as a people separate from all others. Ezra 



208 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAM I 

was overcome with astonishment and grief when the 

facts were brought to his attention. lie rent his robe, 

plucked off the hair of his head and of his beard, and 

lown astonished. Soon a great crowd assembled 

,', hat WOCl] 

In the middle of the afternoon Ezra arose, fell upon 

lis l.ix ( -. and 1 the sins of I 

. and made confi s :<»:i, weeping 
and casting him <lf down before the house of <<<'<1, there 

ira out <■: 

• 1 children ; for 

:nation, urging I :nove- 

«-f the h 
.id. 

A ; ndah 

ihould 
would he punished I 

the cold and the 
winter nil I I their 

< the 
work men from I 

Within two months the work was con.; ' 
10). 

177. M.iiKMiAii Ki sun ; m WALL or JLRUSALEU 

In 445 miah, wl ■■< r of 

Artaxerxes of Persia, inquin . e condition of 

alem and of the Jews who liad returned home. He 
greatly disturbed to : there was no wall 

around the city, and that the people were in great afflic- 
tion and reproach. He fasted and prayed on behalf of 
his people, and resolved to undertake the task of forti- 
fying the Holy City (Net 

Xehemiah secured permission from Artaxerxes to go 
to Jerusalem and rebuild its wall. He obtained letters 



THE RESTORATION 209 

to the governors west of the Euphrates, and also a letter 
to the keeper of the king's forest, that he should give 
him all the timber he might need. The journey was 
made in safety (Neh. 2:1-11). After a rest of three 
days, Nehemiah inspected the wall secretly in the night. 
When he had all the facts in hand, he assembled the 
people and urged them to arise and build the wall of the 
city, informing them of the king's permission to do so. 
They responded with alacrity that they would do it. 
Sanballat and Tobiah and the other enemies of the Jews 
scoffed at the movement (Neh. 2). 

Nehemiah distributed the people along the entire wall, 
giving to each group of laborers a definite portion to 
repair (chapter 3). Sanballat tried to stop the work; 
but Nehemiah checkmated him (chapter 4). 

In this busy and critical time Nehemiah had to face a 
serious financial problem. He organized his forces skill- 
fully, and broke up the custom of charging interest and 
taking mortgages (chapter 5). In the face of opposition 
within and without the city he pushed the wall to com- 
pletion in fifty-two days (chapter 6). 

178. A GREAT REVIVAL 

The completion of the city wall put new hope and 
confidence into the hearts of the people of Jerusalem. 
They came together as one man into the broad place be- 
fore the water gate, and requested Ezra the scribe to 
bring the book of the law of Moses and read to them. 

From a pulpit of wood Ezra read in the hearing of all 
the people from early morning until noon. All were 
attentive, both men and women and children old enough 
to understand. The Levites assisted in making the peo- 
ple understand what was read. It was not a merely 
formal reading, but an effort to teach the people the 
meaning of God's Word. Soon the people were in tears ; 
for they had not obeyed the commandments of Jehovah. 



LMO THE HEART 01 THE 01 D Tl STAM1 

niah and Ezra urged them rather to rejoice and 
ling them to send portions to I 

who had not!,;: 

the following day the j>eoplc returned to hear the 
the command to oh 
the fend of Tal 

:nmandmcnt at 

i for 
furth- h. 8). 

with 
■ 

miah in tl 

ollcc- 

M El 

after 

! 

D the 

It -oris fron. 
We name tl :ng: 

■ 
k and pn 

ur main 
(4) Cokh 'led common sense. 



180. MALACHI'S TRUMPET CALL TO 

Malachi was probably contemporary with Xehemiah, 



THE RESTORATION 211 

inasmuch as he rebukes the same evils which disturbed 
Jewish social life in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. 

The people offered blind and lame animals in sacrifice 
on Jehovah's altar, thus insulting their God. He will 
accept no such worthless offerings. "Oh that there were 
one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might 
not kindle fire on mine altar in vain!" (Mai. 1). The 
priests are also at fault in accepting such contemptible 
offerings. They have departed far from Jehovah's ideal 
for the priesthood (2:1-9). 

The prophet attacks the custom of divorcing Jewish 
wives and taking heathen women in their place. Jehovah 
hates divorce (2:10-16). The accusation that Jehovah 
favors the wicked will cease when He draws near to 
judgment against sorcerers and adulterers and false 
swearers and oppressors (2:17 to 3:6). Judah robs 
God by withholding the tithe that should support His 
ministers (3:7-12). The separation between the right- 
eous and the wicked shall certainly come (3: 13 to 4:3). 

Malachi's last word urges the people to keep the law 
of Moses and wait for the forerunner of the King (4: 
4-6). 

181. OTHER LITERATURE OF THE RESTORATION 

Many psalms were composed in this period. See 
Psalms 85, 118, 119, 126, 146-150. The Psalter became 
the hymnal of the Jews of the Restoration. Perhaps the 
sages also added to the wisdom literature of the Old 
Testament. Ecclesiastes is put in this period by almost 
all recent scholars. The Books of Chronicles, Ezra, Ne- 
hemiah, and Esther were composed in this latest period 
of the Old Testament. Daniel is placed at the beginning 
of the period by conservative scholars and toward the 
end by radical critics. 



212 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

182. A GLANCE FORWARD 

There is a gap between the Old Testament and the 

New. The Judaism of Ezra and Nehemiah is not the 

legalism of the Pharisees in the time of our Lord. The 

struggle • ration after 167 B.C mi 

I period in which the parties of later Judaism took their 

The libera] Jews became nunc lax, and the strict 

becan i the law killed the 

spirit. The weightier matters, such as justice and mercy, 

forgo tt en in the effort to tithe mint, anise, and 

cummin. 

Into this legalistic rircl ■ rbo i night 

that I : word in the Old Testament 

lie found in Geneaii and Deuteronomy and Isaiah and 

the Psalms rich the charad i, and 

! and reli thing which will inspire an«l 

men to the en-: 

:ncnt in h\ 

will, wc also come to it for instruction in righteousness. 



Chapter XIV 

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE BIBLE 

THE Bible is a history of Redemption. It is not a 
history of the world, nor even a history of the 
Hebrew people. Whatever bears on the redemption of 
sinful man finds a place in the Bible. All else, however 
interesting and valuable for other purposes, is passed by 
in silence. 

I. THE BEGINNINGS 

The first eleven chapters of Genesis lie at the founda- 
tion of the Bible. They tell us that God created the 
universe; that man, the crowning work of the creation, 
at first enjoyed fellowship with God; that the old ser- 
pent tempted our first parents and led them into sin; 
that God announced final victory to the seed of the 
woman in the long struggle with the serpent; that sin 
grew among men until God felt impelled to destroy all 
the race except one righteous family; that sin continued 
among the descendants of Noah, the progenitor of all 
the families and nations of earth. This foundation sec- 
tion of the Bible leads up to the birth of Abram, whom 
Jehovah elects to be a blessing to all the world. It 
covers far more time than all the remainder of the Bible ; 
perhaps far more than the common chronology would 
suggest. 

II. THE PATRIARCHAL PERIOD 

God makes a new era to begin with Abraham, the 
father of believers. Rich revelations of the character 
213 



214 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

and purposes of Jehovah are made to Abraham and his 
descendants. The inspired writer portrays the patri- 
arch's life and character vividly and fullv' In the his- 
tory of redemption Abraham holds a large place. The 
i-aac, Jacob, and Joseph . xceedingly 

instructive. God waited a long time while His 

maturing, and then advanced His redemptive pur- 

rapidly through the 
truly one of the world' 

III. Til' 

The family of Jacob had grown into a 1 
are enslaved by I 

an(j : .ah is 

much of it- glory tl The 

I righteous 
■tltUl r f Jeho- 

vah ■ •,: arc 

to shape then Much red' 

wrapped up in the symbols and types of the Mi 

the borders of the Promised Land. 
ft wa ua to conquer Canaan and to 

to the various tribes their inheritance. Th< 
1 1 in bondage in a foreign land ; it cl 
with Israel in j of a land flowing with milk 

and honey called to be a holy nation, ai 

this chosen nation are intrusted the oracles of God. 
Jehovah redeemed [srael by a mighty arm from the 
bondage of lie claims Israel as His own per- 

sonal property. Tic i? Israel's king. Through Israel 
He wishes to reveal His character and purposes I 
mankind. 

The life and work of Moses are described in Exodus, 
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Joshua gives 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE BIBLE 215 

an account of the conquest of Canaan and of the allot- 
ment of the land among the tribes of Israel. During 
this period the Pentateuch was written. 



IV. THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 

After the death of Joshua, heathenism repeatedly at- 
tacked and threatened to engulf the religion of Abraham 
and Moses. Here we come to the Dark Ages of Israel's 
history. Every man did that which was right in his 
own eyes. Even the best men of the time were on a 
plane far below that on which Moses and Joshua and 
their associates had lived. It looked as if the knowledge 
of Jehovah's character might fade from the minds of 
men. But there were a few faithful souls who kept 
alive the knowledge of the holy and merciful God. Sam- 
uel, the last of the Judges, became the first of a long line 
of prophets. Under the guiding hand of Samuel a great 
revival breaks out, and Israel comes into an era of politi- 
cal power and of moral and spiritual energy. 

The story of the period is told in Judges, Ruth, and 1 
Samuel 1-7. The Book of Joshua was probably com- 
posed in this period. 

V. THE UNITED KINGDOM 

Under Samuel the transition from a pure Theocracy 
to a Constitutional Monarchy is made. An earthly king 
is seated on Jehovah's throne over Israel. When Saul 
proves a failure, Jehovah chooses a man after His own 
heart and places David on the throne. David as king 
becomes significant in the revelation of Jehovah's re- 
demptive purpose. The promise of God attaches itself 
to David's house. The Ideal King of the future will be 
a second David. 

Perhaps David's harp was more important to the plan 
of Redemption than his scepter. Through the many 



216 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

psalms which he composed he has brought men of afl 
succeeding ages into a closer fellowship with God. 

Solomon contributed out of his stores of worldly wis- 
dom many proverbs to guide the young to success and 
honor. 

The period of the United Kingdom was one in which 
real advance was made in the redemptive plan of Jeho- 
vah. Prophets and psalmist* and sages united ir. pro- 
moting faith and morality and spirituality in Israel. 
Times of reaction and moral declension may be traced 
in tlu later history i any long period 

in which Israel is without prophets or other leaders to 
alive the knowledge of Jehovah. 

The account of tin i this period is found in 

mud 8 to 1 Kings 11 ; also in 1 chronicles 10 to 2 
Okies 9. Judges. Ruth, and 1 and 2 Samuel 
probably composed in this period ; also many psalms and 
proverbs and the Song of Solomon. 

vi. Tin: DIVIDED I 

The taxes were heavy under Solomon. Hi- footisfa 
son refused to make them lighter, and the northern tribes 
revolted. This brings us to the period of the Divided 
Kingdom (931-587 B.C). In . Samaria 

captured by the Assyrians, and the kingdom of Israel 
(or Ephraim) ceased to be. The kingdom of Judah was 
• lest roved by Nebuchadrezzar in 587 B.C. and the people 
carried captive to Babylonia. As early as 605 B.C., 
captives were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. Daniel 
and others were carried into exile in that year. In 598 
B.C. Jehoiachin and many of his people were transported 
to Babylon. 

The ministry of Elijah and Elisha in the Northern 
Kingdom made memorable the period from 870 B.C. to 
800 B.C. In Judah, Obadiah and Joel were probably 
contemporary with Elisha. Jonah, shortly after 800 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE BIBLE 217 

B.C., prophesied first to his own people and then to 
heathen Nineveh. Amos (about 760 B.C.) thundered at 
Bethel against the sins of Israel, and Hosea (about 750- 
725 B.C.) pleaded with Israel to return to Jehovah. In 
Judah, Isaiah and Micah filled the period from 740 to 
695 B.C. with brilliant ministries. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, 
and Micah made prophecy a mighty power in the eighth 
century B.C. To Isaiah it was given to picture the Mes- 
sianic King in His glory and to describe the character 
and achievements of the Suffering Servant of Jehovah. 
Hezekiah, one of Judah's best kings, led his people to 
turn from idols to the worship of Jehovah. Isaiah and 
Micah found in him a sympathetic hearer. 

With the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C., the Kingdom 
of the Ten Tribes passed away. No doubt pious indi- 
viduals of these tribes later united with their brethren 
of Judah, so that the Ten Tribes were not wholly lost to 
history. 

After the death of Hezekiah and Isaiah, Judah lapsed 
into gross idolatry under Manasseh. There was a notable 
reformation under Josiah about 623 B.C. Jehovah raised 
up a group of faithful prophets at this crisis. Nahum 
(about 640-630 B.C.) announced the approaching down- 
fall of cruel Nineveh. Zephaniah (about 630-625 B.C.) 
described the terrible day of Jehovah's wrath against sin, 
but predicted that a remnant both of Jews and Gentiles 
would be saved. Habakkuk (about 609-600 B.C.) gave 
voice to the longing for justice in a time of oppression. 
Jeremiah commenced about 628 B.C. a faithful ministry 
that was continued in the face of multiplied discourage- 
ments and dangers until after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 
B.C. He announced the transition to a new era in which 
Jehovah would write His law, not on tables of stone, 
but on the hearts of His people. He preached the doc- 
trine of individualism. God will deal with each person as 
a separate entity. The Kingdom of God as represented 
by the people of Judah as a nation was about to go to 



•JI8 THE III Al; l O] I III OLD II STAMSNT 

. but only as I • n for a higher stage in the 

history of Redemption. The spirituality of the Kingdom 
of ( >■ I new and helpful interpretation from Jere- 

miah. Long before I Jem in 587 

mmitted to writing the substance of 
Jehoi h him. The roll of his prophe- 

the Babylonian 

I luring the discouragii. 

devoid men m re \u art ned 1 It, and 

I iritual < lemenf e of ultimate vic- 
■ 

During thii I 1 the sin made 

additi •.. i to put 

forth ■ 

tible • uthor of I I in this 

( >f the writing propl i 

. N'ahum. Haba 
i" mi writer that ( tbadiah, 

Joel, and Jonah should be placed in the early part of this 



vii. Tin: n.u; ile 

rining 
with tin 
tinning with the captivity of Jehoiachin in 598 B.C, and 
leading up to tl Miction of 

! 

ith Jehoiachin in 598 
Called to propl- among the ca; 

by the river Chebar in I Ionia. He continued 

his ministry until 571 B.C Through Ezekiel Jehovah 
emphasized the doctrine of individual responsibility. 
Every man is treated justly, and every man is a separate 
entity before God. He may even break away from his 
own past life, and will be judged as he is. and not as he 
was before he changed his course. Ezekiel is a prophet 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE BIBLE 219 

of hope, picturing the growth of the kingdom of God in 
his image of the stream of life-giving waters that issued 
from under the altar of God. 

Daniel as a statesman and wise man gave his testimony 
before kings and courts. God also made through him 
wonderful disclosures of the future struggles of Jehovah's 
people. Daniel teaches the doctrine of the resurrection of 
individuals to everlasting life or everlasting shame, and 
gives a great promise to soul-winners. 

During the Exile were composed the Books of 1 and 
2 Kings; Jeremiah (completed), Lamentations, and Eze- 
kiel. 

VIII. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE MACCABEAN 
REVOLT 

The return from captivity had been foretold by Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. When Cyrus conquered Babylon, 
he gave permission to the Jews to return to their own 
land and to rebuild their temple. In 535 B.C. Zerubbabel 
led a company of about fifty thousand exiles back to 
Palestine. The worship of Jehovah through sacrifices 
was resumed, and plans were laid for rebuilding the tem- 
ple; but, owing to opposition from their heathen neigh- 
bors, the work was discontinued for fourteen years. 
Then Jehovah sent Haggai and Zechariah, in 520 B.C., 
to stir up the spirits of the rulers of the people to under- 
take the task of building the temple. The work was 
completed in 516 B.C., and the temple was dedicated 
with joy. 

Many Jews remained in Babylon and Persia. The 
Book of Esther relates how, in the reign of Xerxes (about 
478 B.C.), the Jews of the world were threatened with 
extermination, and how they were saved by the interces- 
sion of Esther. 

In 458 B.C., Artaxerxes gave Ezra permission to lead 
a caravan of Jews from Persia to Jerusalem. Ezra came 



220 THE HEART OF THE 01 D TESTAMENT 

to Jerusalem and wrought important reforms among the 
people. 

In 445 B.C., Neliemiah, the cupbearer of Artaxerxes, 

permission to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild 

the walk of the city. He accomplished his difficult task 

lily, in spite of many serior. ' I his return 

from Persia, abort AM B.C, he wrou| I fan- 

nfl reforms in Jerusalem. ll<- was ■ wise and effi- 
cient gove r nor. Ears and Nehemial ted to keep 

:. which threat - 
low religious and moral 
life. BUafa paved the way for the develop- 

ment of Judaism. 
Th< bably com with 

attacks the abuses which Nehemiah over- 
threw in Judah. 

continued under the comparatively mild Per- 
sian rule until • the 
. 

act to the i • j't. '1 ben 

to Antiochus tl I 
tinned tributary i until the revolt against An- 

tiochus Epiphai brave 

sons led their countrymen in a desperate struggle for the 
right to worship God according to the ' Moses. 

They refused to become hellenized and heathenized. 

During the period from 5 p ere com- 

posed the prophetic Books of Daniel. Haggai, Z'-cbariah, 
and Malachi; the hi oks. 1 and 2 Chronicles, 

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; also some Psalms, and 
probably Ecclesiastes, which describes the lessons to be 
learned from Solomon's experiences. Several of the 
Apocryphal Books, such as Tobit and Ecclesiasticus, were 
also composed in this period. 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE BIBLE 221 

IX. FROM THE MACCABEAN REVOLT TO THE BIRTH OF 
JESUS 

For this period we are dependent upon sources other 
than the Bible. From 1 Maccabees and Josephus we 
learn that the Maccabees, after many battles, won inde- 
pendence for the Jews. Native kings and queens once 
more ruled over the Jewish people. But in 63 B.C. 
Pompey captured Jerusalem, and in 37 B.C. Herod the 
Great became king, and held the office until after the 
birth of our Lord. The chronology computed in later 
times seems clearly to have put the birth of Jesus about 
five years too late. Flence modern chronologers usually 
assign that event to 5 B.C. 

During this period the Jewish sects developed, so that 
in the New Testament we hear of the Pharisees and the 
Sadducees. Judaism hardened into Pharisaic legalism. 

X. THE LIFE OF OUR LORD JESUS 

Here we come to the heart of the Bible. Fortunately 
the story is so familiar that we do not need to repeat it. 
Our Lord's public ministry probably lasted a little over 
three years. After the early Judean ministry He passed 
through Samaria to enter upon the great Galilean min- 
istry, which took Him three times over that populous dis- 
trict. Then He withdrew into the region of Tyre and 
Sidon and other districts around Galilee. During the 
last six months He seems to have visited all parts of the 
land on both sides of the Jordan. Then came the dis- 
courses of the last week, the crucifixion, the resurrection, 
and after forty days the ascension. 

Jesus wrote no books, but He promised the Twelve the 
gift of the Holy Spirit that He might bring to their 
remembrance the words they had heard from His lips. 
Never man spake like this man. Jesus Christ made atone- 
ment for sin on the cross. In Him were fulfilled the 



*22 THE II! ART OF I HE 01 I) 1 1 STAM1 

• lation 
to Him I t the re- 

lation I 



X! \TES 

: QUI 

: the Holy 

progress Iki-uh it 

make 

■ 
.: tioch 
e labors ;1 of 

been converted to the new faith. He- is busy 
".ing and teaching in 

li born. Fourteen oi are have passed away 

since our Lord left the earth, e is ripe for a 

ingathering of the < 1 he gospel of ( 

has been tested by many, and it has stood the i 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE BIBLE 223 

XII. MISSIONARY LABORS OF PAUL AND OF HIS ASSOCIATES 

(Gentiles and Jews.) 

Barnabas, seeing that there was a great door opened 
in Antioch, went forth to Tarsus to seek Saul. He found 
his man and brought him face to face with a great oppor- 
tunity. These were busy days in Antioch. Presently the 
Holy Spirit designated Barnabas and Saul for work on 
a wider field. Then follows the great missionary journey 
to Cyprus, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. Many converts are 
won from among the Gentiles. Now the question is 
raised whether Gentiles becoming Christians should not 
also become Jews and keep the law of Moses. At the 
Council in Jerusalem in A.D. 50, Gentile freedom was 
won, largely through the efforts of Paul and Barnabas. 

About 48 or 50 A.D., it is supposed, James wrote his 
Epistle. 

In A.D. 51-54 followed the second missionary journey. 
Paul and Silas were called into Macedonia, and thence 
into Greece. From Corinth, in A.D. 52 or 53, Paul wrote 
the two letters to the Thessalonians. 

During the period from A.D. 54 to A.D. 58, Paul was 
engaged in the third missionary journey, spending much 
time at Ephesus. Toward the close of this campaign he 
wrote a group of great letters, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Gala- 
tians, and Romans. This group belongs to the years 57 
and 58 A.D. 

Finally Paul falls into the hands of his enemies, and 
lies in prison at Csesarea for two long years. Then he 
goes to Rome as a prisoner. During his confinement in 
Rome he probably wrote Philippians, Colossians, Phile- 
mon, and Ephesians, another group of great letters. 

It seems that Paul finally was released, and had op- 
portunity to resume his missionary labors. But once 
more he was arrested, about A.D. 67, and is said to have 
suffered martyrdom in A.D. 68. During his last im- 



2S4 THE HEART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 

prisonment he wrote 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy. 

Hebrews is probably not directly from the hand of 
Paul, although reminding one a good deal of the great 
Apostle. It was probably composed between 60 and 
70 A.D. 

1 Peter, lude, and 2 Peter probably date from 65 to 
67 A.D. 

Mark, Matthew, and Luke probably wrote the Gospels 
bearing their names before A.D. 70, though some good 
scholars think them later. 



XIII. CLOSING LABORS OF JOHN AND OF HIS ASSOCIATES 

Wbtfl Peter and Paul passed away, John, the beloved 
disciple, became easily the forem m in the 

world. He wai peal rod influential while these mighty 
men lived, but he seems to have been willing to yi« 
Peter as spokesman. John is said to have lived to a ripe 
old age In E] riled to Patmos. 

Between AD. 80 and AT). 95 he probably wrote the 
Gospel of John, the three I and the Reve- 

lation. The heart of 0<>d is revea' *ings. 

They form a fitting close and climax to the revt ' 
contained in the Bible. The ultimate triumph of Christ 
over all foes is predicted in the Revelation. God's plan 
of redemption will not fail. The Son of God shall reign 
r. Satan shall be locked up in the bottomless pit, 
no more to tempt the sal- 

The Bible is a unity. The style and manner of each 
book contain elements that give it a right to a place in 
God's great Book. Every part of the Book contains the 
red blood of Redemption. The Bible is an organism. 
Cut it and it w ill bleed. It contains the progressive reve- 
lation of God's will. Holy men wrote it as they were 
borne along by the Spirit of God. 



TESTAMENT 
PALESTINE 




A CHART SHOWING THE BIBLE AS A 
WHOLE 



226 CHART OF THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE 



H 
1 










3 S-- 


me Proverbs ; 
Jonah, Amos, 
Micah, Na- 
k, much of 
possibly Job. 

s ; Jeremiah 
Lamentations, 












EOh « 

CM 2, "3 


g£ 










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school cherish a different conviction from that of my r 
esteemed critic. 

The several clergymen who have not wasted their time 
university adhere to freer views, but Church and School — esp 
the public schools — have remained unaffected, and this inci 
ency is no longer endurable, as stated in my First Lecture an 
freely granted by Harnack. 

And this inconsistency produces an increasingly wideninj 
When, e. g., a theologian of no less authority writes (26th Ja: 
4903): "You criticise a conception of Revelation that se 
Protestants no longer share; it is that of the antiquated Lui 
Dogmatists. . . . All divine revelation is, of course, affected 1 
human medium, and must therefore have historically develo 
he describes exactly the standpoint that I myself advocate, 
regard the conceptions of "divine revelation " as held by the C 
and as a historical, i. e., human, development to be irrcconi 
contradictions. Either we take the one or the other. Tertiu 
datur. 

I hold the view that in the Old Testament we have t< 
with a development effected or permitted by God like any 
product of this world, but, for the rest, of a purely human an 
torical character, in which God has not intervened through a 
cial, supernatural revelation." 

The Old Testament monotheism plainly shows itself 
such a process marked by an advance from the imperfect 1 
perfect, from the false to the true, here and there indeed 
sional retrogression. The modification of the original c< 
of revelation, deeply rooted in ancient Orientalism, by a 
of the verbal inspiration, made by both, evangelical and' 
theology, and even by the Church, irretrievably divests th 
Testament of its character as the "Word of God," ushering 
it seems to me, the end of the theological and the beginning 1 
religio-historical treatment of the Old Testament. 

The present resurrection of the Babylonio-Assyrian lite 
has certainly not been accomplished without God's will. 1 
suddenly taken its place by the side of the ancient Hebrew 
ture, the only one of Hither-Asia heretofore known to us, and 
pels to revise our conception of revelation bound up with th 
Testament. Would that we might more and more become 
vinced that only by a dispassionate reinvestigation of the 



ect 1 

1 



